A total of 8 sportspersons were conferred the Padma Shri Awards on Friday night including names like Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Chhetri and others.
Bachendri Pal – Mountaineering (Padma Bhusan)
Padma Shri
Gautam Gambhir – Cricket
Harika Dronavalli – Chess
Sharath Kamal – Table Tennis
Bambayla Devi – Archery
Prashanti Singh – Basketball
Ajay Thakur – Kabaddi
Bajrang Punia – Wrestling
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir was awarded the Padma Shri award for his contribution to Indian cricket throughout his career. He was an integral part of the Indian team in their World Cup successes in 2007 and 2011.
Ajay Thakur and Bajrang Punia are other two eminent names in Indian sports who have been chosen for the Padma Shri award. While Ajay Thakur has led India in Kabaddi in several international tournaments, Bajrang Punia has won medals for India in wrestling. One of his most important accomplishments was winning the gold the medal in 2018 Asian Games.
