NEW DELHI: Celebrated boxer MC Mary Kom is to be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award, while world champion shuttler PV Sindhu will get the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest honour.
The duo are among eight awardees in the sports category announced by the government for the prestigious honours on Saturday, on the eve of the country’s 71st Republic Day.
The 36-year-old Mary Kom, also a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, won a Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics while also being crowned as World Champion six times in her illustrious career.
Mary Kom is the fourth sportsperson in the country to be given the Padma Vibhushan after chess wizard Viswanathan Anand, mountaineer Edmund Hillary and cricket legend and Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar, who all got the coveted award in 2008.
As for India’s badminton queen, who won the Padma Shri in 2015, Sindhu was recommended for Padma Bhushan award in 2017 but did not make it to the final list then.
Regarding the other awardees, the Padma Shri was conferred on Indian women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, shooter Jeetu Rai, archer Tarundeep Rai, former Indian women’s football team captain Bembem Oinam, retired cricketer Zaheer Khan and former hockey player MP Ganesh.
The other women who were recommended by the Sports Ministry for Padma Shri this year but did not “make the cut” were wrestler Vinesh Phogat, table tennis player Manika Batra, cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur, former shooter Suma Shirur, and twin mountaineers Tashi and Nungshi Malik.
Meanwhile, the ‘Durga of Indian Football,’ Oinam Bembem Devi became the first Indian woman footballer, and the seventh overall to be named for Padma Shri.
The awards will be conferred by the President of India at a ceremonial function at Rashtrapati Bhawan in March/April this year.
Bembem also joins the elite club of the late Gostho Paul, late Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee, Bhaichung Bhutia and current Indian men’s national team captain Sunil Chhetri as Indian footballers who have won the Padma Shri.
For the record, that 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. This year the President has approved conferment of 141 Padma Awards including 4 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one).
The list comprises of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards. 33 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 18 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 12 Posthumous awardees.
