Indian men’s Hockey vice-captain Hardik Singh named Khel Ratna nominee; cricketers miss out for second consecutive year

Two-time Olympic medallist and Indian men’s hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh has been nominated for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Olympics.com reported. This is the second consecutive year that no cricketer has been selected for India’s highest sporting honour. Indian pace veteran Mohammed Shami had received the Arjuna Award in 2023.

The list of nominations was finalised on Wednesday by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) vice-president Gagan Narang, Moscow 1980 Olympic gold medallist M.M. Somaya, and former badminton star Aparna Popat.

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The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is the highest sporting honour bestowed on an Indian sportsperson by the President of India. It is presented annually by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Hardik made his senior international debut in 2018 and was a key member of India’s bronze medal-winning teams at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Six hockey players have previously received the Khel Ratna: Dhanraj Pillay (1999-2000), Sardar Singh (2017), Rani Rampal (2020), P.R. Sreejesh (2021), Manpreet Singh (2021) and Harmanpreet Singh (2024).

The 27-year-old midfielder has played 164 international matches for India and has won back-to-back Hockey India Player of the Year awards in 2022 and 2023. He was also named FIH Player of the Year in 2023 and received the Arjuna Award in 2021.

Hardik was one of the standout performers in India’s gold medal-winning campaigns at the Asia Cup 2025, which secured qualification for next year’s Hockey World Cup, the Asian Champions Trophy 2023, and the Asian Games.

Last year, Indian men’s hockey captain and star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh was honoured with the Khel Ratna Award alongside two-time Paris Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, chess world champion D. Gukesh, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar.

Yogasana athlete Aarti Pal was nominated for the Arjuna Award, becoming the first-ever yogasana athlete to receive the honour. She is the reigning national and Asian champion in the discipline, which will feature as a demonstration sport at the Asian Games in Japan next year.

Nominees for the Dronacharya Award and the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award are expected to be announced later.

National Sports Awards 2025: List of Nominations

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

Hardik Singh (Hockey)

Arjuna Award

Tejaswin Shankar (Athletics)

Priyanka (Athletics)

Narender (Boxing)

Vidit Gujrathi (Chess)

Divya Deshmukh (Chess)

Dhanush Srikanth (Deaf Shooting)

Pranati Nayak (Gymnastics)

Rajkumar Pal (Hockey)

Surjeet (Kabaddi)

Nirmala Bhati (Kho Kho)

Rudransh Khandelwal (Para-shooting)

Ekta Bhyan (Para-athletics)

Padmanabh Singh (Polo)

Arvind Singh (Rowing)

Akhil Sheoran (Shooting)

Mehuli Ghosh (Shooting)

Sutirtha Mukherjee (Table Tennis)

Sonam Malik (Wrestling)

Aarti Pal (Yogasana)

Treesa Jolly (Badminton)

Gayatri Gopichand (Badminton)

Lalremsiami (Hockey)

Mohammed Afsal (Athletics)

Pooja (Kabaddi)