Days after being crowned as the new World No.1 in men’s doubles, Rohan Bopanna has now been conferred with the honour of Padma Shri as the list for the prestigious Padma awards were released on Thursday, January 25.

Bopanna was joined by squash Joshna Chinappa as total of eight people were nominated for the honour from the field of sports.

Apart from Bopanna and Chinappa, Harbinder Singh, Purnima Mahato, Satendra Singh Lohia, Gaurav Khanna and Uday Vishwanath Deshpande are all set to receive the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours in the country.

The Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, usually around March or April every year.

The full list of the Padma Shri award winners from the field of sports is as follows:

• Shri Harbinder Singh (Hockey, Coach)
• Ms. Purnima Mahato (Archery, former athlete)
• Shri Satendra Singh Lohia (Swimming, athlete)
• Shri Gaurav Khanna (Badminton, Coach)
• Shri Uday Vishwanath Deshpande (Mallakhamba, Coach)
• Ms. Joshna Chinappa (Squash, athlete)
• Shri Rohan Machanda Bopanna (Tennis, athlete)

What are the Padma Awards?

Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines / fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year.

Padma Shri follows Bopanna after incredible run in the Australian Open 2024

The new recognition for Bopanna comes on the back of an incredible run in the Australian Open 2024. Hot on the heels of reaching the final of the US Open 2023 with his partner Matthew Ebden, the Indian star would show his fine form in Melbourne as the duo made it to the summit clash.

In their win over the 6th seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-6 (5) in an hour and 46 minutes in the men’s doubles quarter-final, Bopanna and Ebden would confirm their ascend to the top of the doubles rankings.

The duo would then enter their first-ever Australian Open final with a win over ZZ Zhang and Tomas Machac on January 25. They will face Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final on January 27.

Legendary Chinappa adds Padma Shri to her list

Chinappa has been a trailblazer for India in squash over the years after breaking into the limelight at a young age.

Chinappa became the youngest national champion at 14 and has since clinched a record 18 senior national titles. Her international acclaim includes winning the British Junior Open in 2005 and making history with Dipika Pallikal by securing India’s first Commonwealth Games squash medal—a gold in 2014.

Chinappa reached a career-high world ranking of No. 10 in July 2016. Her triumph at the 2017 Asian Individual Squash Championships marked her as India’s first Asian Squash Champion, a milestone she considers her biggest achievement.

The icing on the cake for the squash star was winning the World Championships doubles Gold in 2022 and then adding a team bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games