Tennis legend Amritraj gets Padma Bhushan
Cricket stars Rohit, Harmanpreet, hockey coach Baldev receive Padma Shri
Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, World Cup winning captains Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur were among the prominent sportspersons honoured in the Padma Awards announced on Sunday.
Amritraj was the only sportsperson to receive the Padma Bhushan this year. India’s third-highest civilian honour, it recognises his pioneering role in putting Indian tennis on the global map during the amateur and early Open Era.
A former Davis Cup stalwart, Amritraj had earlier received the Padma Shri in 1983 and the Arjuna Award in 1974. He had reached the singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open twice and later served Indian sport in various administrative and ambassadorial roles.
Former India captain Rohit guided India to two ICC titles, lifting the T20 World Cup in 2024 and the Champions Trophy in 2025.
Harmanpreet’s award comes after a landmark year in Indian women’s cricket as she led India to their maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title on home soil.
Other sportspersons honoured with the Padma Shri include Paralympics high jump champion Praveen Kumar, Indian women’s hockey team goalkeeper Savita Punia and veteran hockey coach Baldev Singh.
Praveen, 22, clinched the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics in the men’s T64 high jump category, which features athletes with limb deficiency or significant leg length discrepancy. Born with a short leg, Praveen had earlier won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Savita has been a mainstay of the hockey team for more than a decade and is widely regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers of her generation. The 35-year-old played a pivotal role in India’s historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
Coach Baldev has been recognised for his transformative role in Indian women’s hockey. Widely credited with strengthening the grassroots, he has mentored and guided more than 50 international players and established one of the country’s most productive women’s hockey nurseries.
Former wrestling coach Vladimer Mestvirishvili was awarded the Padma Shri posthumously. A former Georgian international, Mestvirishvili spent nearly two decades shaping a generation of champions after arriving in the country in 2003. His trainees included Olympics medallists Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia.
