Vijay Amritraj gets Padma Bhushan; Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur receive Padma

Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj World Cup winning captains Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur were among the prominent sportspersons honoured in the Padma Awards for 2026 announced on SundayAmritraj was the only sportsperson to receive the Padma Bhushan this year Indias thirdhighest civilian honour it recognises his pioneering role in putting Indian tennis on the global map during the amateur and early Open EraA 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 rolesFormer India captain Rohit and the 2025 ODI World Cup winning skipper Harmanpreet were among several sportspersons named for the Padma Shri Indias fourthhighest civilian honourRohits recognition follows a defining leadership phase in Indian mens cricket As captain he guided India to two ICC titles lifting the T20 World Cup in 2024 and the Champions Trophy in 2025After winning the T20 World Cup Rohit retired from the shortest format and later stepped away from Test cricket in 2025 continuing to feature in ODIsHarmanpreets Padma Shri comes after a landmark year in Indian womens cricket In 2025 she led India to their maiden ICC Womens World Cup title on home soil defeating South Africa in the final at Navi MumbaiThe triumph made her the first Indian captain to lift the Womens World Cup and only the second Indian skipper overall to win a World Cup at home after MS DhoniOther sportspersons honoured with the Padma Shri include Paralympic high jump champion Praveen Kumar Indian womens hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia and veteran coach Baldev SinghPraveen 22 clinched the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics with a personal best jump of 208 metres in the mens T64 high jump category which features athletes with limb deficiency or significant leg length discrepancyBorn with a short leg Praveen had earlier won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics and also topped the podium at the 2022 Asian Para Games establishing himself as one of Indias leading paraathletesSavita on the other hand has been a mainstay of the Indian womens hockey team for more than a decade and is widely regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers of her generationThe 35yearold from Rajasthan made her senior international debut at the age of 20 and played a pivotal role in Indias historic fourthplace finish at the Tokyo OlympicsHer experience also proved crucial during Indias appearances at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the 2018 Womens Hockey World Cup where the team reached the quarterfinalsAfter taking over the captaincy following the Tokyo Games Savita led India to a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and a title triumph at the FIH Nations Cup the same yearUnder her leadership India also won backtoback Womens Asian Champions Trophy titles in 2023 and 2024Coach Baldev Singh has been recognised for his transformative role in Indian womens hockey Widely credited with strengthening the grassroots he has mentored and guided more than 50 international players and established one of the countrys most productive womens hockey nurseriesFormer wrestling coach Vladimer Mestvirishvili was awarded the Padma Shri posthumouslyA former Georgian international Mestvirishvili spent nearly two decades shaping a generation of champions after arriving in the country in 2003Mestvirishvili who had served as coach of the Georgian national team from 1982 to 1992 settled in Haryana and New Delhi and became a central figure in Indias rise as a global wrestling forceKnown affectionately as Laado within the wrestling fraternity he played a decisive role in the early development of several of Indias most decorated wrestlersHis trainees included Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia all of whom went on to become flagbearers of Indias sustained success on the world stageTokyo Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya and World Championships medallist Deepak Punia also trained under Mestvirishvili during their formative yearsThe Centre announced a total of 131 Padma Awards for 2026 comprising five Padma Vibhushan 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri honours across various fields including sports arts literature and public serviceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever