List of Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award recipients

The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as National Adventure Awards, is the highest adventure sports honour of Republic of India.^[1] The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer and one of the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest along with Edmund Hillary in 1953.^[2] It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipients are honoured for their "outstanding achievement in the field of adventure activities on land, sea and air" over the previous three years. The lifetime achievement is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in and devoted themselves in the promotion of adventure sports. As of 2021^[update], the award comprises "a bronze statuette of Tenzing Norgay along with a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000)".^[a][8]

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
Civilian award for achievements in the field of adventure
Anshu Jamsenpa receiving the award for the year 2017 for land adventure
Awarded for	Highest adventure honour in India
Sponsored by	Government of India
Reward(s)	₹5 lakh (US$5,800)
First award	1994
Final award	2021
Highlights
Total awarded	146
Precedence
Equivalent	Arjuna Award

Instituted in 1993–1994, the first awards were given for the year 1994. The stature of this award is considered to be equivalent to Arjuna Award conferred in the field of sport.^[3] Since the year 2004, this award, along with all the other six National Sports Awards, are conferred in the same presidential ceremony at the Presidential Palace, usually on 29 August each year.^[5][9] The nominations for a given year are accepted until 20 June. Typically, one award in each of the four categories—Land adventure, Water (Sea) adventure, Air adventure, and Lifetime achievement—are given. The number may increase in a particular year for appropriate reasons and after approval. A five-member committee evaluates the achievements of a candidate in a particular category of adventure, taking into consideration their last three years of performance for the first three categories. The committee later submits its recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval.^[8]

As of 2021^[update], there have been 146 recipients. In the first year 1994, 22 awards were given, of which 19 were bestowed on the Indian members of the 1993 Indo-Nepalese Women's Everest Expedition.^[3] In 2017, ten awards were given, of which six were given to the members of Navika Sagar Parikrama, an all-woman sailing team for the circumnavigation of the globe.^[10] Chandraprabha Aitwal is the only double recipient of the award, in 1994 for land adventure and in 2009 for lifetime achievement.^[3][11]

List of recipients

Award recipients by year Year Number of recipients 1994–1999 45 2000–2009 38 2010–2019 56 2020–2021 7	Award recipients by gender[b] Gender Number of recipients Male 93 Female 47	Award recipients by category[b] Category Number of recipients Land Adventure 67 Water Adventure 27 Air Adventure 18 Lifetime Achievement 28	Award recipients by discipline[b] Category Number of recipients Mountaineering 87 Open water swimming 15 Sailing 12 Skydiving 17 Others[c] 7

Key

# Indicates a posthumous honour

List of award recipients, showing the year, gender, category and discipline^[b]

Year	Recipient	Gender	Category	Discipline	Refs.
1994	Chandraprabha Aitwal	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Kunga Bhatia	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Gurmayum Anita Devi	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Radha Devi	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Dicky Dolma	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Baldev Kanwar	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Suman Kutiyal	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Savita Martolia	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Rita G Marwah	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Bimla Negi	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Sarla Negi	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Nima Norbu	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Bachendri Pal	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Harshha Panwar	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Rita Patel	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	K. Saraswati	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Deepu Sharma	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Rajeev Sharma	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	A. K. Singh	Male	Water Adventure	Sailing	[3]
1994	Hukum Singh	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[3]
1994	Rachel Thomas	Female	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[3]
1994	Santosh Yadav	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[3]
1995	C N Janaki	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[12]
1995	H C Kohli	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[12]
1995	Chhavi Madan	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[12]
1995	Baba Maninder Paul	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[12]
1995	Sanjay Thapar	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[12]
1995	Ang Tsering	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[12]
1995	M P Yadav	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[12]
1996	B. K. Das	Male	Air Adventure	Microlight aviation	[13][14]
1996	Krishan Kumar	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[13][15]
1996	Gunjan Parulkar	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[13][16]
1996	Rupali Repale	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[13][17]
1996	Gyan Singh#	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[13]
1996	Lalneihsenga	Male	Land Adventure		[13]
1997	Kokila Sudha	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[18][19]
1998	Amulya Sen	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[18][20]
1999	H. S. Chauhan	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[18][21]
1999	Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[22][23]
1999	Ratnamani Roy				[22]
1999	S. D. Sharma	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[22][24][25]
2000	Ratan Singh Chauhan	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[22][26]
2000	Chalti Debarma				[22]
2000	Kamal Singh Oberh	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[22][27]
2000	Kushang Sherpa	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[22][28]
2001	Kulwant Singh Dhami	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[18][29]
2001	Barkha Kishore Kedia	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[18][30][31]
2001	Dorjee Lhatoo	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[22][19][32]
2001	Vijaypat Singhania	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Microlight aviation	[33]
2001	Ramesh Chandra Tripathi	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[18][34]
2002	Bula Choudhury	Female	Lifetime Achievement	Open water swimming	[5][35]
2002	Brian Dermot Kharpran Daly	Male	Land Adventure	Caving	[5][36]
2002	Relu Ram Thakur	Male	Water Adventure	White water rafting	[5][37]
2003	Harish Kapadia	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[38][39]
2003	Mayur Mehta	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[38][40]
2003	Amar Prakash	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[38][41]
2004	Mohan Singh Gunjyal	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[38][42]
2004	Nadre Sherpa	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[38][43]
2004	Jayashankar	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[38][44]
2005	Mukul Asthana	Male	Water Adventure	Sailing	[45]
2005	Chhering Norbu Bodh	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[45]
2005	Nawang Gombu	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[45]
2005	Shital Mahajan	Female	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[45]
2006	Tapas Chowdhury	Male	Water Adventure	Sailing	[46][47]
2006	Palden Giachho	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[46][48]
2006	Motuku Indra Kanth Reddy	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[46][49]
2006	Gurdial Singh	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[46][50]
2007	Neel Chand	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[51][52]
2007	Mohan Singh Kohli	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[51][50]
2007	T. K. Rath	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[51][52]
2007	Mohinder Singh	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[51][53]
2008	H. P. S. Ahluwalia	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[54][50]
2008	Bachinapally Shekhar Babu	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[54][55]
2008	Chaitanya Datla	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[54][56]
2008	Ramakant	Male	Air Adventure	Hang gliding	[54][57]
2009	Chandraprabha Aitwal	Female	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[11][58]
2009	HC Kamlesh Kumar Bounthiyal	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[11][59]
2009	Jai Kishan	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[11][60]
2009	Sufyan Sheikh	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[11][61]
2010	Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu	Female	Land Adventure	Cross-country skiing	[62][63]
2010	Dilip Donde	Male	Water Adventure	Sailing	[62][64]
2010	Balwant Sandhu#	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[62][65]
2010	Mamta Sodha	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[62][66]
2011	Rajendra Singh Jalal	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[67][68]
2011	Bhakti Sharma	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[67][69]
2011	Mandip Singh Soin	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[67][70]
2011	Anand Swarup	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[67][71]
2012	Ranveer Jamwal	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[72]
2012	Hari Ram	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[72]
2012	Basant Singh Roy	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[72]
2012	Paramjeet Singh Siddhu	Male	Air Adventure	Hang gliding	[72]
2012	Prem Singh	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[72]
2012	Abhilash Tomy	Male	Water Adventure	Sailing	[72][73][74]
2013	Amit Chowdhury	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Skydiving	[75][76]
2013	Passang Tenzing Sherpa	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[75][77]
2013	Jagat Singh	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[75][78]
2013	Surender Singh	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[75][76]
2014	Satish Chander Sharma	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[79][19]
2014	Jot Singh	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[79][80]
2014	Paramvir Singh	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[79][46][81]
2014	Arunima Sinha	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[79][82]
2014	Satyendra Verma	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[79][76]
2015	Debasish Biswas	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[83][84]
2015	Ritu Kishor Kedia	Female	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[83][85]
2015	Nungshi Malik	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[83][86]
2015	Tashi Malik	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[83][86]
2015	B. Rajkumar	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[83][76]
2015	Harbhajan Singh	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[83][87]
2016	Ashok Abbey	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[88][89]
2016	Premlata Agrawal	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[88][90]
2016	More Rohan Dattatrey	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[88][91]
2016	Ved Prakash Sharma	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Skydiving	[88][76]
2017	Aishwarya Boddapati	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[10]
2017	Shougrakpam Vijaya Devi	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[10]
2017	Payal Gupta	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[10]
2017	Anshu Jamsenpa	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[10][92]
2017	Pratibha Jamwal	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[10]
2017	Vartika Joshi	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[10]
2017	Ravi Kumar#	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[10]
2017	Patarlapalli Swathi	Female	Water Adventure	Sailing	[10]
2017	Udit Thapar	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[10]
2017	Sonam Wangyal	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[10]
2018	Dipankar Ghosh#	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[93][94]
2018	Rameshwer Jangra	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[93][76]
2018	Manikandan K.	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[93][95]
2018	Prabhat Raju Koli	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[93][96]
2018	Aparna Kumar	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[93][97]
2018	Wangchuk Sherpa	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[93][98]
2019	Magan Bissa#	Male	Lifetime Achievement	Mountaineering	[9][99]
2019	Anita Devi	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[9][100]
2019	Keval Hiren Kakka	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[9][101]
2019	Satendra Singh Lohiya	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[9][102]
2019	Sarfraz Singh	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[9][103]
2019	Taka Tamut	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[9][104]
2019	Gajanand Yadava	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[9][105]
2020	Sheetal	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering
2020	Priyanka Mohite	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[106]
2020	Srikaanth Viswanathan	Male	Water Adventure	Swimming	[107]
2020	Amit Bisht	Male	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[108][109]
2020	Servesh Dhadwal	Male	Air Adventure	Skydiving	[110]
2021	Naina Dhakad	Female	Land Adventure	Mountaineering	[7]
2021	Shubham Dhananjay Vanmali	Male	Water Adventure	Open water swimming	[7]
2021	Bhawani Singh Samyal	Male	Life Time Achievement		[7]

Explanatory notes

1. The cash prize started with ₹50,000 (US$580) in 1994,^[3] was revised to ₹1.5 lakh (US$1,800) in 1999,^[4] to ₹3 lakh (US$3,500) in 2002,^[5]to ₹5 lakh (US$5,800) in 2008,^[6] and to ₹15 lakh (US$18,000) in 2021^[7]
2. The names and complete data of four award recipients is missing, two recipients from 1997 and two from 1998. The partial data for three recipients is missing, Lalneihsenga (1996) – discipline missing, Ratnamani Roy (1999) – gender, category and discipline missing and Chalti Debarma (2000) – gender, category and discipline missing. Hence the total in the graphs may not match the total number of recipients.
3. Includes caving (1 recipient), cross-country skiing (1 recipient), hang gliding (2 recipients), microlight aviation (2 recipients) and white water rafting (1 recipient)