The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. He was master of advanced military warfare and was appointed as the royal preceptor to the Kaurava and the Pandava princes for their training in military arts and astras. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured to have done "outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabled sportspersons to excel in international events" over a period of four years. Two awards are designated for the lifetime contribution in coaching where the achievements in producing "outstanding sportspersons" over a period of 20 years or more are considered. As of 2020, the award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000).
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
Geeta Phogat is a freestyle wrestler who won India's first ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She is also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Summer Games.
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is an Indian badminton player. Considered one of India's most successful sportspersons, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first and only Indian to become the badminton world champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of no. 2 in April 2017.
Rani Rampal is an Indian field hockey player and coach. At the age of 15, she was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup. She has completed her schooling but was not able to get the graduate degree due to practice sessions and matches which were lined up. She plays forward on her team. She has played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She is currently the Captain for Indian Women's Hockey Team. She is also well known as a striker who often doubles up as mid-fielder. She has a great fascination with CWG. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.
Gymnastics came of age in India, when at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Ashish Kumar won the first-ever medal in gymnastics, he won a bronze medal. However, soon after the win, the President of the Gymnastics Federation of India asked Ashish's Chief Coach from the Soviet Union, Vladimir Chertkov: "Is this all that you can deliver, a bronze?" The comment was widely reported in the press.
Purnima Mahato, an internationally recognized National Archery Coach of India and a distinguished recipient of the Padma Shri and Dronacharya Award, epitomizes excellence and dedication in the realm of archery. With an illustrious career that transcends her achievements as an eminent archery champion, Purnima Mahato has notably transitioned into a formidable mentor, nurturing a generation of archers who have captivated the nation with their prowess and achievements.
The Squash Rackets Federation of India or SRFI is the Indian governmental apex body for the game of squash. It conducts the National Squash Championship, and promotes the game through the state level squash bodies, and provides training facilities and selects the squad for the Indian team. It also chooses coaches for the national team.
Sunil Dabas is a coach of national female Kabbadi team of India. Over the years, she has coached her team to win seven international gold medals, including the 2010 Asian Games and the World Cup-2012. She was awarded the Dronacharya Award in 2012, and Padma Shri in 2014 by Government of India.
Jitu Rai is an Indian Army Subedar Major who competes in the 10 metre air pistol and 50 metre pistol events. The Government of India announced the Khel Ratna Award for him in 2016. In 2020, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India.
Sakshi Malik is a former Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. In 2017, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award and in 2024, she became the first Indian wrestler to feature in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.
Dipa Karmakar is an Indian gymnast from Tripura. She is the first female gymnast from India to compete in the Olympics. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, in the vault event final, she finished in 4th place.
The handspring double salto forward tucked, known as a Produnova in women's artistic gymnastics and a Roche in men's artistic gymnastics, is a vault consisting of a front handspring onto the vaulting horse and two front somersaults in a tucked position off it.
India competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920, although they made their official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Mantu Debnath is an Indian gymnast from Tripura. He won gold medals at national level competition, became the first Indian gymnast to win an international competition in Russia in 1969 and won the Arjuna Award in 1975 for his contributions in gymnastics. Mantu is also the second Indian Arjuna awardee for gymnastics after Sham Lal and the first Arjuna awardee from Tripura. He was trained by Dalip Singh.
Kalpana Debnath is an Indian Bengali gymnast from Tripura who received the Arjuna Award in 2000 for her contributions to Indian gymnastics. She is the second Arjuna awardee from Tripura after Mantu Debnath. She was trained by Dalip Singh.
Dalip Singh, also spelt as Duleep Singh, was an Indian gymnastics coach from Haryana. His main training centre was Vivekananda Byamagar, Agartala. Gymnastics began in Tripura at that centre under the supervision of Singh, who began working in Agartala in 1964. His notable students included Mantu Debnath, Bharat Kishore Debbarman, Kalpana Debnath, Bishweshwar Nandi, and others.
Vivekananda Byamagar is a gymnasium, located in Agartala, Tripura, India. It is the oldest gymnasium in Agartala. It was the work-place of legendary gymnastics coach Dalip Singh. It has produced many notable gymnasts such as Mantu Debnath, Bharat Kishore Debbarman, N. N. Dey, Balaram Shil, Madhusudan Saha, Lopamudra Ghosh, Ratan Debnath, Manika Debnath, Kalpana Debnath, Bishweshwar Nandi, Apu Shil, Dipa Karmakar and others.
Pranati Nayak is an Indian artistic gymnast. She is the 2019 Asian Championships vault bronze medalist. She is the third Indian gymnast to win an international medal on the vault, after Dipa Karmakar and Aruna Reddy. She represented India at the 2020 Summer Olympics and is only the second Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games. She is also the 2019 Indian all-around champion. She represented India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games. She also competed at the 2014, 2017, and 2019 World Championships.
