CM Saini Congratulates Four Haryana Athletes on Arjuna Award 2025
Synopsis
Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini congratulated boxer Narender Berwal, kabaddi players Surjit and Pooja, and para-athlete Ekta Bhyan on being selected for the Arjuna Award 2025, honouring their outstanding contributions to Indian sport.
Key Takeaways
Four Haryana athletes — Narender Berwal, Surjit, Pooja, and Ekta Bhyan — have been selected for the Arjuna Award 2025 .
CM Nayab Singh Saini publicly congratulated all four on August 18, 2026 .
The cohort spans three disciplines: boxing, kabaddi, and para-athletics .
Para-athlete Ekta Bhyan's inclusion reflects growing mainstream recognition of para-sports in India.
Haryana's representation of four awardees in a single cycle underlines the state's outsized contribution to Indian sport.
Four athletes from Haryana — boxer Narender Berwal, kabaddi players Surjit and Pooja, and para-athlete Ekta Bhyan — have been selected for the Arjuna Award 2025, India's second-highest sporting honour, earning a warm public salute from the state's top office. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini took to X on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, to congratulate all four, calling them sons and daughters of Haryana who have brought glory to the state through talent, hard work, and dedication.
In his post, CM Saini wrote — 'हरियाणा के लाल' ('sons of the soil of Haryana') — a phrase that captures the deep pride Haryana takes in its sporting lineage. He praised each athlete for their 'outstanding performance' in their respective disciplines and wished them continued success.
Boxer, Kabaddi Stars, and a Para-Champion in the Same Cohort
Narender Berwal is a prominent Indian boxer from Haryana who has represented the country at the international level. Surjit and Pooja are recognised kabaddi players — a sport in which Haryana has historically produced a disproportionate share of India's top talent. Ekta Bhyan is a para-athlete whose selection underscores the growing recognition of differently-abled sportspersons within India's mainstream sports awards framework.
Haryana's Outsized Place on India's Sporting Map
Haryana, despite being one of India's smaller states by area, has punched far above its weight in national and international sport for decades — from wrestling and boxing to kabaddi and athletics. The Arjuna Award, instituted by the Government of India to recognise consistent outstanding performance in sport, carries a cash prize and a bronze statuette. Having four athletes from a single state in one award cycle is a significant marker of Haryana's continued dominance in grassroots sports development.
The recognition also arrives at a moment when para-sports are gaining sharper institutional attention in India, making Ekta Bhyan's inclusion a signal worth noting beyond just the individual honour.
Point of View
Kabaddi, and para-sport — is a calculated signal of Haryana's sporting identity as a political asset for the BJP in the state. Haryana has long used its sports culture as a soft-power narrative, and the Arjuna Award cycle gives the ruling dispensation a ready platform to reinforce that story. The inclusion of a para-athlete in the same breath as mainstream champions is also consistent with the Centre's broader push to mainstream para-sports. For Saini, whose government faces the perennial pressure of delivering on youth employment and rural aspiration, celebrating sporting excellence is both genuine tribute and smart political optics.
NationPress
18 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the Haryana athletes selected for the Arjuna Award 2025?
Four Haryana athletes have been selected: boxer Narender Berwal, kabaddi players Surjit and Pooja, and para-athlete Ekta Bhyan.
What is the Arjuna Award?
The Arjuna Award is India's second-highest sporting honour, given by the Government of India to recognise consistent outstanding performance in sport. It carries a cash prize and a bronze statuette.
What did Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini say about the Arjuna Award winners?
CM Saini congratulated all four athletes, calling them 'sons of the soil of Haryana' and praising their talent, hard work, and dedication for bringing glory to the state.
Why is Haryana known for producing top sports talent?
Haryana has a long tradition of grassroots sports development, particularly in wrestling, boxing, kabaddi, and athletics, producing a disproportionately large share of India's national and international sporting champions relative to its population and size.
