Arjuna Award

Instituted in 1961 to honour the outstanding sportspersons of the country, the award over the years has undergone a number of expansions, reviews and rationalizations. The award was expanded to include all the recognised sporting disciplines in 1977, introduced indigenous games and physically handicapped categories in 1995 and introduced a lifetime contribution category in 1995 leading to creation of a separate Dhyan Chand Award in 2002. The latest revision in 2018 stipulates that the award is given only to the disciplines included in the events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and World Cup along with cricket, indigenous games, and Parasports. It also recommends giving only fifteen awards in a year, relaxing in case of excellent performance in major multi-sport events, team sports, across gender and giving away of at least one award in the physically challenged category.

History

Since the year 2001, the award is given only in disciplines falling under the following categories:

• Olympic Games / Asian Games / Commonwealth Games / World Cup / World Championship Disciplines and Cricket
• Indigenous Games
• Sports for the Physically Challenged