On January 17, 2025, President Droupadi Murmu presented the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award to distinguished athletes: D. Gukesh, Manu Bhaker, Harmanpreet Singh, and Praveen Kumar. D. Gukesh achieved a historic milestone earlier this month in December 2025 by defeating China’s Ding Liren in the final and decisive 14th game of the FIDE World Championship held in Singapore. Manu Bhaker etched her name in history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by securing two bronze medals, cementing her position as one of India’s finest athletes.The other two honorees included men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold medalist high jumper Praveen Kumar. Harmanpreet contributed to India’s success by helping the national team clinch bronze medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Meanwhile, Praveen Kumar, who was born with a shorter left leg, upgraded his silver medal from the Tokyo Games to a gold at last year’s Paris Paralympics. Additionally, 32 athletes were recognized with the Arjuna Award during the ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

Star pistol shooter Manu Bhaker landed back in the country on Wednesday after her historic feat of winning two medals in a single edition of the Paris Olympics 2024 and was welcomed by hundreds of supporters and her family. The 22-year-old Bhaker won a bronze each in the women`s 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event -- where she had paired with Sarabjot Singh -- to script Olympic history for the country. Before her, only British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had achieved the rare landmark for the country with his two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles at the 1900 Olympics but this happened in the pre-Independence era.