NEW DELHI: Former Indian cricket team skipper MS Dhoni and multiple world champion cueist Pankaj Advani were conferred with the country’s third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan, by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here Tuesday.
Ace men’s singles shuttler Kidambi Srikanth and former Asian Games Gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman received the country’s fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri.
The other sportspersons who received the Padma Shri on Tuesday were 2017 World Weightlifting champion in the 48kg category Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and India’s first Paralympic Gold medallist, Murlikant Petkar.
Petkar won an individual Gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg, Germany. He set a world record in the 50m freestyle swimming event, at 37.33 seconds. In the same Games, he participated in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom. He was a finalist in all three events.
Dhoni has been the recipient of many awards, including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first player to win the award twice), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2007 and the Padma Shri in 2009.
