History of Arjuna Awards

Before Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards was the most prestigious award for a sports person in India. Instituted in 1961, the award acknowledges the outstanding performances of Indian sports persons.

About Arjuna Awards
Named after Arjun, the Pandava Brother of Mahabharata fame, who defeated a huge army of Kauravas in the battle against evil, Arjuna Awards is conferred to many sportsperson from different sports in India.

List of Arjuna Awardees

Prize carries a bronze statuette of Arjun, a scroll and Rs 500,000.

According to the revised rules, to be eligible a Sportsperson should be a consistent good performer for previous three years at the international level. From 2001 the award is conferred on sportsperson who come under any of these three categories:
1. Olympic Games / Asian Games / Commonwealth Games / World Cup / World Championship Disciplines and Cricket
2. Indigenous Games
3. Sports for the Physically Challenged

First Awardees of Arjuna Awards
In 1961, the first year of the award 16 sportsperson were conferred Arjuna Awards. The players are:

Gurbachan Singh Randhawa – Athletics
Nandu Natekar – Badminton
Sarbjit Singh – Basketball
L. Buddy D’ Souza – Boxing
Manuel Aaron – Chess
Saleem Durani – Cricket
P. K. Banerjee – Football
Shyam Lal – Gymnastics
Prithipal Singh – Hockey
Ramanathan Krishnan – Lawn Tennis
Karni Singh – Shooting
Jam. Bajarangi Prasad – Swimming
J.C. Vohra – Table Tennis
A. Palanisamy – Volleyball
A.N. Ghosh – Weightlifting
Hav. Udey Chanf – Wrestling

Number of Awards according to sports (Till 2016)
Total: 34 Sports

96 Athletics
82 Hockey
51 Wrestling
50 Cricket
42 Shooting
39 Boxing
37 Weightlifting
32 Badminton
26 Swimming
25 Volleyball, Table Tennis
24 Football
21 Kabaddi
18 Basketball, Golf
17 Chess
16 Yachting
15 Lawn Tennis, Archery
12 Kho-Kho, Rowing, Squash
9 Equestrian, Billiards & Snooker
8 Judo, Polo
7 Gymnastics
6 Ball Badminton, Power lifting
3 Wushu, Cycling, Body Building
1 Carrom, Roller Skating 1