Recently-retired cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin and two-time Olympic medallist hockey star PR Sreejesh are among the five sportspersons of a total of 139 eminent personalities chosen for this year’s prestigious Padma Awards.
The list includes seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards. Besides Ashwin and Sreejesh, legendary footballer IM Vijayan, double Paralympic medallist archer Harvinder Singh and para coach Satyapal Singh have been named in the various categories of the Padma Awards.
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According to the list, former Indian men’s hockey team custodian PR Sreejesh will be awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India, for his role in guiding the country to two back-to-back bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and Paris Olympics in 2024.
Currently the head coach of the Indian men’s junior hockey team, Sreejesh also bagged gold medals at the Asian Games in 2014 and 2022. Sreejesh was adjudged FIH Goalkeeper of the Year for a record three times in 2020, 2022, and 2024. In recognition of his contribution to sports, the government honoured him with the Arjuna Award in 2015 and the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2019.
Star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India for his contribution in the field of sports.
Ashwin was a part of the Indian team, which won the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Ashwin, who announced his retirement from the sport in the middle of the recently-held Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, ended his career with 537 Test wickets, second only to Anil Kumble’s haul of 619 scalps in Indian cricket.
Across all formats, Ashwin has 765 international wickets in 287 matches. This is the second-most by an Indian behind Kumble’s 956 wickets and 11th on the all-time list. Like Ashwin, the trio of Harvinder Singh, Satyapal Singh and I.M. Vijayan will be conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India.
Harvinder is a double Paralympic medallist, with a bronze medal in the men’s singles recurve archery event in Tokyo and a gold in the same event at the Paris Games in 2024. He has brought India its first Paralympic gold and bronze medals in archery.
The archer, hailing from Kaithal in Haryana, also has two Asian Para Games medals to his name – gold in the individual recurve open event in the 2018 edition in Jakarta and bronze in the doubles recurve event in Hangzhou in 2022.
Former India footballer Vijayan played as a striker alongside other legendary Indian players like Bhaichung Bhutia. In his international career spanning 72 games, he scored 29 goals for India. He captained the national side from 2000 to 2004.
After breaking through at Kerala Police, he also represented a number of prestigious clubs, including legacy Kolkata outfits Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Para coach Satyapal Singh has contributed to India’s Paralympic ambitions, particularly over the last two Summer Games cycles. In 2012, he became the youngest-ever Dronacharya Awardee when his exceptional efforts were recognised nationally.
With a focus on para athletics, among his many success stories in the ecosystem is Praveen Kumar who he has coached to two Paralympic medals, a World Grand Prix gold and an Asian record. His academic accomplishments are also exemplary, with a B.Sc in Physical Education, B.P.Ed, M.P.Ed, M.Phil, Ph.D and a Diploma in Sports coaching.
Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines / fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year. For the year 2025, President Droupadi Murmu has approved conferment of 139 Padma Awards including 1 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below.
The list comprises seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 23 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees.
