Overview
- India men’s hockey vice-captain Hardik Singh, a midfield mainstay with Olympic medals from Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 and this year’s Asia Cup title, is the lone Khel Ratna choice.
- The Arjuna list spans chess, athletics, shooting, gymnastics, badminton, hockey and more, featuring Divya Deshmukh, Vidit Gujrathi, Tejaswin Shankar, Mehuli Ghosh and doubles pair Treesa Jolly–Gayatri Gopichand.
- Yogasan athlete Aarti Pal has been recommended for the Arjuna award, the first from the discipline since its recognition five years ago, with Yogasan set as a 2026 Asian Games demonstration sport.
- No cricketer figures among the 24 Arjuna recommendations, with pacer Mohammed Shami remaining the most recent recipient from the sport in 2023.
- The selection committee included IOA vice-president Gagan Narang, Aparna Popat and M. M. Somaya, and the honours carry cash awards of Rs 25 lakh (Khel Ratna) and Rs 15 lakh (Arjuna).