Dronacharya Award is an award presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India for excellence in sports coaching. The award comprises of a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs.5 lakhs. The award was instituted in 1985.

Named after Dronacharya, the coach of Mahabharata fame, the award is the best recognition of a guru or coach in Indian sports. This award is indeed a great acknowledgement that a sportsperson can achieve, only after the hard work of several years.

Prize for Dronacharya Awardees
Dronacharya Award comprises a statuette of Dronacharya which is intricately carved out in bronze, a cash component of Rs.5 lakhs, a ceremonial dress and a scroll of honour. The winners are invited to the venue, where an award function is held. According to rules of the Award, no person can be honoured twice with this award. Dronacharya Awards are given to the trainers and coaches with consistent outstanding performance at:

1. Global Olympic Events
2. Sports disciplines recognized by the Government
3. Indigenous sports recognized by the Government

History of Dronacharya Award
Instituted in 1985, Indian Government confers this award to the sports coaches acknowledging their excellence. O.M. Nambiar, Athletics coach, was the first Dronacharya Award recipient in 1985.

Etymology of Dronacharya Award
The naming of the award has indeed the reference of the Mahabharata and as the best sportsperson award is named as the "Arjuna Award" so quite ideally the coaching award is named after, Dronacharya (as he was the guru of Arjuna. ) to recognise the `Guru-Shishya Parampara` and to honour the Guru .

Objectives of Dronacharya Award
The objectives of Dronacharya Award can be described as follows:
•The first objective of Dronacharya Award is to honour the contribution and role of instructors, trainers and coaches on a consistent basis leading towards unmatched performances by the sportspersons trained by them.
•The another objective of this award is to motivate coaches and trainers to work with focus and dedication and train sportspersons in order to help them attain success at the global sports events.

Dronacharya Award Recipients