Padma Awards: Bajrang Punia, Sharath Kamal among sportspersons conferred with honour by President of India

President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Monday conferred the prestigious Padma Awards at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Sportspersons including champion wrestler Bajrang Punia, veteran table-tennis players Sharath Kamal and chess grandmaster Harika Dronavalli were honoured with the Padma Shri by the President.

Punia had a great year in 2018 as he won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. He also bagged a silver medal at World Championships and a bronze medal at the Asian Championships last year.

Sharath Kamal, who has been leading India’s charge in men’s table tennis for years had a highly rewarding 2018 too. He won as many as four medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, including a historic gold in the men’s team event. 

Indian kabaddi team captain Ajay Thakur is also a recepient of the Padma Shri Award. Veteran mountaineer Bachendri has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan.

The Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian awards of the country -- are conferred in three categories: the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri.

As many as 112 ‘inspiring’ personalities were selected for this year’s Padma awards and their names were announced on the eve of Republic Day this year. The remaining awardees are likely to be conferred the honour at another function to be held on March 16, a Home Ministry official said.

Here is the full list of recipients from sports:

Padma Bhushan

Bachendri Pal - Mountaineering

Padma Shri

Sunil Chhetri - Football

Harika Dronavalli - Chess

Gautam Gambhir - Cricket

Sharath Kamal - Table Tennis

Bombayla Devi Laishram - Archery

Bajrang Punia - Wrestling

Prashanti Singh- Basketball

Ajay Thakur - Kabaddi

(With agency inputs)