India’s former hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and former all-rounder R Ashwin were among the former and current players honoured with Padma awards on the eve of the 76th Republic Day.
Sreejesh has been awarded the Padma Bhushan. Paris 2024 Paralympics gold medallist Harvinder Singh, former football captain Inivalappil Mani Vijayan, former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, and coach Satyapal Singh have been awarded the Padma Shri.
The Padma awards, among the country’s highest civilian honours, are conferred in three categories: Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.
The awards are given in various disciplines, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, and literature, among others.
The Padma Shri award is the fourth-highest civilian award, after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan.
Sreejesh, the two-time Olympian, retired from sports following India’s bronze medal win against Spain at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Having made his debut at the 2010 World Cup, Sreejesh was part of various memorable wins for India, including a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games, a bronze medal in Jakarta-Palembang, the joint-winning team of the 2018 Asian Champions Trophy, the gold medal-winning team at the 2019 FIH Men’s Series Finals in Bhubaneswar, and the silver medal-winning team at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Para-archer Harvinder tasted success in the past year with his consistent performances. He won India’s first-ever gold medal in para-archery at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
It was a one-sided affair in the men’s individual recurve open event. Harvinder ousted Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek with a straight-set win, 6-0, in the gold medal match.
His triumph in Paris marked a medal in two successive Paralympics, having won a bronze medal in recurve para-archery at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. His triumph in Tokyo was India’s first medal in archery at the Paralympics.
Former captain Inivalappil Mani Vijayan was instrumental in Indian football during the 1990s. He guided the Indian national team to the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in 1993 and 1997.
In both title-winning editions of the tournament, Vijayan was the top goal-scorer. He was also crowned All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year in 1992, 1997, and 2000. Vijayan also received the Arjuna Award in 2003.
Ashwin has been one of the most illustrious spinners in the world of cricket. He announced his retirement after the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
In 106 Tests for India, the legendary all-rounder took 537 wickets at an average of 24.00, with best figures of 7/59. He claimed 37 five-wicket hauls and eight ten-wicket match hauls in his Test career. He is the eighth-highest wicket-taker in Tests overall and the second-highest for India, behind Anil Kumble (619 wickets). Ashwin also holds the record for the second-most five-wicket hauls in Tests, trailing only Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (67).
With the bat, Ashwin scored 3,503 runs at an average of 25.75, including six centuries and 14 fifties in 151 innings, with a highest score of 124. In 116 ODIs, Ashwin took 156 wickets at an average of 33.20, with best figures of 4/25. He also scored 707 runs at an average of 16.44, including one fifty, a knock of 65 in 63 innings.
He is the 13th-highest wicket-taker for India in the format. Across all formats, Ashwin took 765 wickets in 287 matches, making him India’s second-highest wicket-taker after Anil Kumble (953 wickets). Ashwin was also a key member of the Indian teams that won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
