Six-time world boxing champion MC Mary Kom and star shuttler PV Sindhu’s name have been recomended for the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan for this year’s Padma Award’s. Mary is the only women boxer to win the World championship for record sixth time, also becomes the first women athlete to be recommended by the Sports Ministry for country’s second highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna. Earlier recipients of Padma Vibhushan are chess great Vishwanathan Anand in 2007, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in 2008 and mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary in 2008. Mary Kom had earlier won Padma Bhushan in 2013 and Padma Shri in 2006.
Sindhu, also achieved another milestone in her career after winning the World Badminton championship the only Indian to do so, has been recommended for Padma Bhushan. She was Padma Shri recipient in 2015. Those recommended for Padma Shri are wrestler archer Tarundeep Rai, hockey Olympian MP Ganesh, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, table tennis star Manika Batra, cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur (T20Is), hockey captain Rani Rampal, former shooter Suma Shirur and mountaineer twin sisters, Tashi and Nungshi Malik. Rai and Ganesh were late additions to the list, which is yet to be approved by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, before which it was an all-women list.
Meanwhile, recommendations have been sent to the Padma awards committee, which will announce the names of the selected awardees on the eve of the Republic Day early next year. (UNI)
