India’s World No. 1 tennis player Rohan Bopanna’s achievements have been recognised by the government, and is all set to receive the prestigious Padma Shri award, for his contribution to the sport. On Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs released a list of Padma Awardees, that included seven sportspersons/coaches in all.
Meanwhile, Bopanna is going through a purple patch in his career, and is on the cusp of winning the Australian Open men’s doubles title, along with partner Matthew Ebden. In September last year, he won the Asian Games gold in mixed double with Rutuja Bhosale as well.
Apart from Bopanna, India’s veteran squash player Joshna Chinappa will also receive the Padma Shri. At the Asian Games last year, she had team bronze medal, and in 2022, had won the women’s doubles title at the World Championships.
Other notable inclusion in the list was that of para badminton coach Gaurav Khanna, whose wards won multiple medals at the Paralympics 2020 in Tokyo.
Full list of sportspersons/coaches to receive Padma Shri:
Rohan Bopanna – Tennis
Joshna Chinappa – Squash
Uday Vishwanath Deshpande – Mallakhamb
Gaurav Khanna – Badminton
Satendra Singh Lohiya – Swimming
Harbinder Singh – Hockey
Purnima Mahato – Archery
