Commendation of Sporting Excellence: the Arjuna Award Recognizing Outstanding Performance and Character

Abstract

The Arjuna Award for exceptional performance in Sports and Games" is conferred as an acknowledgment of exceptional achievements demonstrated over the preceding quadrennial span, alongside qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline. This esteemed accolade is dispensed annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognize remarkable individual accomplishments in the realm of sports. Following its establishment in 1961, the aggregate number of individuals from the realm of sports who have been bestowed with this accolade stands at 941 individuals up to the present juncture. With-in this overall tally, a notable subset comprising 244 individuals, amounting to approximately 25.93 percent of the total, has been attributed to exceptional female performers across diverse sporting disciplines. This proportion of female awardees has demonstrated a propensity to surpass the prevailing national average for female participation, which stands at 25.93 percent, over a span of 29 years. Conversely, during the remaining 33 years, the proportion of female awardees has fallen below the national average. Consequently, the computed annual average for female sports personas receiving the Arjuna Award approximates 3.9 individuals. When the comprehensive parity index for the entire temporal span from 1961 to 2022 is computed for female recipients of the Arjuna Award, the resultant ratio stands at 1:0.37, signifying a discrepancy of 0.13 units beneath the benchmark of gender parity. This elucidates the observable disparity between male and female recipients of the award. Furthermore, in the year 2022, female recipients demonstrated a noteworthy overtaking of their male counterparts, securing 13 out of the total pool of 25 medals. It is important to note that Anna Lumsden, an Indian hockey player, stands distinguished as the inaugural and sole woman recipient of the Arjuna Award, having received this honour in the inaugural year of 1961.