The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is

sports coaching A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the H ...

honour of the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The award is named after

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...

, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a character from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' of

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

. He was master of advanced military warfare and was appointed as the royal

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

to the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

and the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

princes for their training in military arts and

astras Astras (Greek: Αστράς) is a mountainous village of the Elis region in West Greece. It became part of the municipal unit of Lampeia on January 1, 2011. Lampeia belongs to the municipality of Ancient Olympia. A local government plan, Kapodistr ...

(Divine weapons). It is awarded annually by the

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India which administers the Department of youth affairs and the Department of Sports in India. Anurag Thakur is the current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports followed ...

. 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. , the award comprises a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

statuette A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cl ...

of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of . Instituted in 1985, the award is given only to the disciplines included in the events like

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

along with

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, Indigenous Games, and

Parasports Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...

. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 30 April or last working day of April. A ten-member committee evaluates the nominations and later submits their recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval. The first recipients of the award were Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (Wrestling), Om Prakash Bhardwaj (Boxing), and O. M. Nambiar (Athletics), who were honoured in 1985. Usually conferred upon not more than five coaches in a year, a few exceptions have been made (2012 and 2016–2020) when more recipients were awarded in a year.

Nominations

The nominations for the award are received from all government recognised National Sports Federations, the

Indian Olympic Association The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams ...

, the

Sports Authority of India The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1982 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Government of India for the development of sports in India. SAI has 2 Sports Academic institution ...

, the Sports Promotion and Control Boards, and the state and the union territory governments with not more than two eligible coaches nominated for each sports discipline. In case of cricket, the nominations are received from the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

as there is no National Sports Federation recognised by the Government. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is authorised to submit the nominations on behalf of all the de-recognised or under suspension National Sports Federations. The previous award recipients of

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Governm ...

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

, Dronacharya Award, and

Dhyan Chand Award The Major Dhyan Chand Award, officially known as Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, is the lifetime achievement sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan ...

can also nominate one coach for the discipline for which they themselves were awarded. The Government can nominate up to two coaches in deserving cases where no such nominations have been received from the nominating authorities. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 30 April or last working day of April.

Selection process

All the received nominations are sent to SAI and concerned National Sports Federations for verification against the claimed achievements. The

National Anti-Doping Agency The National Anti-Doping Agency of India is India's national organisation responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the doping control program in sports in all its forms. As listed on its official web portal, the agency deals wit ...

is responsible for providing the doping clearance. Any coach associated with a sportsperson who is either penalised or being investigated for use of drugs or substances banned by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

is not eligible for the award along with the previous award recipients of

. A committee consisting of the Joint Secretary and the Director/Deputy Secretary of Department of Sports, the Secretary and the Executive Director/Director (TEAMS) of SAI verify and validate the nominations. The valid nominations are considered by a selection committee constituted by the Government. This eleven members committee consists of a Chairperson nominated by the Ministry, two members who are either Olympians or previous recipients of the

or the

, three previous recipients of the Dronacharya Award of different sports disciplines, two sports journalists/experts/commentators, one sports administrator, the Director General of SAI, and the Joint Secretary of Department of Sports, with not more than one sportsperson from any particular discipline being included in the committee. The medals won in various International championships and events in disciplines included in Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games are given 80% weightage. The remaining 20% weightage is given to the profile and standard of the events where their trainees have won the medals. For any other games not included in Olympic, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games like cricket and indigenous games, individual performances are taken into consideration. Coach with maximum points is given 80 marks, while the remaining coaches are given marks in proportion to the maximum points. For team events, marks are given per the strength of the team. Following are the points defined for medals at the given events: For a given discipline, not more than two coaches, one male and one female, are given highest marks. The committee may not recommend the award to the coach with the highest marks across disciplines but can only recommend the recipient of the highest aggregate marks in a particular sports discipline. The recommendations of the selection committee are submitted to the

for further approval.

Recipients

Controversies

Some of the recipients have been accused of falsely claiming the achievements of the medalist under their names. Satpal Singh (2009), Ramphal (2011), and Yashvir Singh (2012) had mentioned two times Olympic medal winning wrestler Sushil Kumar (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

) as their trainee. The award for year 2012 was bestowed upon para sports athletics coach Satyapal Singh. However, 2010

winning para athlete Jagseer Singh accused Satyapal Singh for falsely mentioning him as their trainee for the award. Jagseer Singh mentioned that 2006 Dronacharya Award winner R. D. Singh was appointed as the main coach and Satyapal Singh was an assisting coach. Jagseer was informed about such claim via

Right to Information Act, 2005 The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, an ...

which had him mentioned as the primary trainee by Satyapal Singh. 2013 award winner Raj Singh also claimed Sushil Kumar and 2012 Summer Olympics medal winning wrestler

Yogeshwar Dutt Yogeshwar Dutt (born 2 November 1982) is an Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the 60 kg category. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013. He won gold medals at th ...

as their trainee. Following an announcement, in August 2015, a

Public-Interest Litigation Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms (pro bono, ''pro bono publico''), often in th ...

was filed in the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...

by Vinod Kumar. The petitioner, former chief wrestling coach, mentioned that he was the chief national coach of men's

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

team from November 2010 to April 2015 and claimed that he had more points (420) than the recipient Anoop Singh Dahiya (375). The court directed the Ministry to confer the award on Kumar and provided one week to the Ministry to challenge the decision. However, the Ministry did not change their decision as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had sacked Kumar in May 2015.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{India Honours and Decorations Civil awards and decorations of India Recipients of the Dronacharya Award Indian sports coaches Indian sports trophies and awards Awards established in 1985 India sport-related lists Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports 1985 establishments in India