The Central Government of India announced the awardees of the Padma awards 2022 on the eve of Republic Day. Padma awards, one of India's highest civilian awards are given in three different categories; Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Among all the honorary awardees, 9 Indian sportspeople will be bestowed with Padma Awards 2022 for their immense contribution to sports and making the nation proud.
Devendra Jhajharia
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Devendra Jhajharia has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan. The Paralympic medalist became the first Indian Paralympics player to win 2 gold medals at the Paralympics. He won his first gold medal at the 2004 games in Athens and won his second gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. Also, he won his third medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by bringing the silver at home.
The Padma Shri awardees:
Neeraj Chopra
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The golden boy of India, Neeraj Chopra became India's first-ever Olympic gold medalist in athletics in Tokyo Olympics 2020. The javelin thrower threw at a distance of 87.58 m in the javelin throw final of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and also brought the gold medal home. Neeraj also became the second Indian individual gold medalist after Abhinav Bindra.
Pramod Bhagat
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The World No. 1 para-badminton in men's singles SL3 category, Pramod Bhagat won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He is one of the best in his field and also became the 5-time World Championships gold medalist
Avani Lekhara
Indian shooter Avani Lekhara is the first Indian woman to win 2 Paralympic medals. She won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 and also clinched the gold medal in the 10 m air rifle standing SH1 event in the Tokyo Paralympics.
Faisal Ali Dar
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Faisal Ali Dar is a former International martial arts champion. He built a small martial arts training academy in the rural district of Bandipora, Kashmir. He trained the 7-year-old Asian Karate Gold medalist Hashim Mansoor and also the 8-year-old world kickboxing champion Tajamul Islam.
Sankaranarayanan Menon Chundayil
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Sankaranarayanan Menon Chundayil is a living legend and the senior-most member of the Mudavangattil family. Mudavangattil family runs the Kalari art in Thrissur, Kerala. The 93-year-old Menon traveled around the world to promote kalaripayattu along with his disciples. He also started his family's traditional Vallabhatta centers in the US, UK, Belgium, Sri Lanka, and France.
Brahmanand Sankhwalkar
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Brahmanand Sankhwalkar is a former captain of the Indian football team. He was one of the most renowned players during the 80s and is considered one of the greatest footballers of India even today. He had a football career of about 25 years where he played with Salgaocar for 17 years and the Goa state team in the Santosh Trophy. The former captain led the Goa team in 1983 and 1984 and also took the team to 2 consecutive wins at the Santosh Trophy. Also, he is the Indian record holder of a clean sheet of 576 minutes in the 1984 tournament.
Sumit Antil
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Sumit Antil clinched the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F64 category at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Also, the Indian Paralympian is the record holder of throwing the javelin at a distance of 68.55 in the Paralympic final.
Vandana Katariya
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Vandana Katariya is the first Indian woman hockey player who scored a hat-trick in the Olympics. She was incredible at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and also was one of the strongest pillars of the team to reach the semi-finals in the history of the tournament. Also, she helped the team to win against South Africa 4-3.