From Harmanpreet Kaur To Vijay Amritraj: Sportspersons To Be Conferred Padma Awards In 2026

Last Updated:May 25, 2026, 19:56 IST

Droupadi Murmu honours Vijay Amritraj, Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur and other sports icons with Padma awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan ceremony.

Droupadi Murmu presented 66 Padma awards during the first civil investiture ceremony for 2026, held at the Ganatantra Mandap in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. The ceremony was attended by CP Radhakrishnan, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, among others, as the President conferred two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri honours.

As many as nine sportspersons, including former athletes and coaches, were conferred the prestigious Padma Awards on Monday.

Let’s take a look at the athletes who were awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri:

Vijay Amritraj: He was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, on the eve of Republic Day in 2026 in recognition of his distinguished contribution to sports. The prestigious honour further cements Amritraj’s legacy as one of India’s most pioneering athletes, broadcasters and sports administrators.

Baldev Singh: Baldev, who transformed the small town of Shahabad Markanda on NH44 into a hub for elite hockey talent, was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri by Droupadi Murmu on Monday. Baldev first arrived in Shahabad Markanda in 1982 as a coach with the Haryana Sports Department and served there for four years. He returned to the town in 1993 and transformed its hockey nursery into one of the nation’s productive centres for hockey talent.

Bhagwandas Raikwar: Raikwar, known as ‘Dau’ Ji, was a renowned pioneer and custodian of Bundeli Martial Arts. Hailing from Sagar, he was conferred the Padma Shri this year for his lifelong efforts to preserve and promote the traditional Akhada fighting style. In 1964, using his own limited resources, Raikwar founded the Chhatrasal Bundelkhand Akhada to ensure that the indigenous martial art did not fade into obscurity.

Harmanpreet Kaur: Harmanpreet, skipper of the Indian women’s cricket team, has been honoured with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, for her outstanding contribution to sports. She received the award for leading India to its first Women’s Cricket World Cup title and for her exceptional captaincy.

K Pajanivel: Pajanivel, a practitioner of the 5,000-year-old martial art Silambam who played a key role in popularising it as a modern competitive sport across continents, was conferred the Padma Shri. Hailing from the coastal village of Pooranankuppam, Pajanivel took up the weapons-based martial art during childhood and went on to dedicate his life to it, competing in and winning multiple tournaments.

Praveen Kumar: Praveen, the Paralympic gold-medal-winning high jumper, was conferred the Padma Shri in recognition of his outstanding contribution to sports following his brilliant rise in para-athletics. Born with a physical disability, Praveen first claimed silver in the men’s high jump T64 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics before upgrading it to gold at the 2024 Summer Paralympics with a personal-best leap of 2.08m.

Rohit Sharma: Rohit was awarded the Padma Shri for his exceptional services to Indian cricket. He now plays only ODIs for Team India, having retired from Tests and T20Is. Rohit has featured in 67 Tests, 282 ODIs and 159 T20Is. In Tests, he scored 4301 runs, including 12 hundreds and 18 fifties.

Savita Punia: Punia, goalkeeper and former skipper of the Indian women’s hockey team, was conferred the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, on Republic Day 2026 for her exceptional contribution to Indian sports. Known as the ‘Great Wall of India’, she has represented the nation in more than 300 international games and has also been named the FIH Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Vladimer Mestvirishvili (Posthumous): Mestvirishvili passed away in Tbilisi on June 23 last year at the age of 81 after an age-related illness. By conferring him with India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, the government also made Vladimir the first foreign coach to receive a Padma award.

News cricket From Harmanpreet Kaur To Vijay Amritraj: Sportspersons To Be Conferred Padma Awards In 2026

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