Like every year on the eve of Republic Day, the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has officially announced the Padma Shri awards. The list includes several athletes, including the captain of the Indian women's cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur and the former captain of the Indian men's team, Rohit Sharma. A total of 8 names have been announced in the Padma Shri award list, while tennis player Vijay Amrit Raj will be awarded with the Padma Bhushan award. Among the Padma Shri awardees, notable mentions apart from Rohit Sharma and Kaur are para athlete Praveen Kumar, the goalkeeper of the women's hockey team Savita Puniya, and the coach of the women's hockey team Baldev Singh. Coming to Harmanpreet's achievements, she had won the Women's Premier League at least twice, leading the Mumbai Indians. However, she got a special feather attached to her ground after she led the team to India's first-ever ICC trophy, the 2026 Women's ODI World Cup. India defeated South Africa to clinch their first title after years of heartbreak. With the Padma Shri award in 2026, Harmanpreet Kaur will be the fifth Indian woman cricketer to ever get the award. The last awardee was Harmanpreet's predecessor, Mithali Raj, who got it in 2015. Indian women cricketer with Padma Shri Cricketer's name Year of receiving Padma Shri Diana Eduji 2002 Jhulan Goswami 2012 Anjum Chopra 2014 Mithali Raj 2015 Harmanpreet Kaur 2026 Rohit Sharma receives Padma Shree post two ICC trophies Rohit Sharma, who is currently active in the ODI format, has had a peak time since 2024, winning consecutive ICC trophies—the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. It not only ended India's ICC trophy drought of over a decade but also made Rohit Sharma the second most successful Indian captain after MS Dhoni in terms of ICC trophies. He led the team to victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where India defeated South Africa in the final at Bridgetown on June 29, 2024. India went unbeaten throughout the tournament. In 2025, Rohit captained an unbeaten India to the ICC Champions Trophy title. India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final at Dubai on March 9, 2025, with the captain scoring 76 in the final. Notably, Sharma will be entering a long list of men's cricketers with the Padma Shri. The list features names like Vijay Hazare (1960), Syed Mustaq Ali (1963), D.B. Deodhar (1965), Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (1967), Chandu Borde (1969), Gundappa Vishwanath (1971), Kapil Dev (1982), mid age legends like Sachin Tendulkar (1999) and Saurav Ganguly (2004), former Indian coach Rahul Dravid (2004), and his own teammates like Yuvraj Singh (2014), Virat Kohli (2017), and Ravichandran Ashwin (2025). Sportsperson to receive Padma Shri The Padma Bhushan is India’s third-highest civilian award, followed by the Padma Shri. Veteran tennis player Vijay Amritraj, now 72 and based in California, reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the US Open in 1973 and again made the US Open last eight in 1974 before returning to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1981. He received the Padma Shri in 1983. Former wrestling coach Vladimer Mestvirishvili was awarded the Padma Shri posthumously. PLAYER SPORT AWARD Player Sport Award Vijay Amritraj Tennis Padma Bhushan Rohit Sharma Cricket Padma Shri Harmanpreet Kaur Cricket (W) Padma Shri Praveen Kumar Para Athletics (High jump) Padma Shri Vladimer Mestvirishvili (from Georgia) Wrestling (coach), Posthumous Padma Shri K Pajanivel Silambattam (ancient Tamil weapon-based martial art) Padma Shri Savita Punia Hockey (W) Padma Shri Baldev Singh Hockey (women’s coach) Padma Shri Bhagwandas Raikwar Arts / Sports (specifically Bundeli war art and training) Padma Shri