Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Chhetri added a prized honour to their decorated trophy cabinets on Saturday, 16 March, after receiving the Padma Shri Awards from President Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi.
The two celebrated stars of Indian sport were presented with the prestigious award – the fourth-highest civilian honour in the country – in a special ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also in attendance.
The 2011 World Cup winner and Indian football skipper were joined by women’s basketball captain Pashanti Singh and star archer Bombayla Devi in receiving the coveted award on Saturday.
Eight Indian sportspersons were conferred the Padma Shri this year – Asiad gold medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia, Commonwealth Games gold medallist in table tennis Achanta Sharath Kamal, kabaddi star Ajay Thakur and chess grandmaster Harika Dronavalli had received their titles on Monday, 11 March.
In addition to the eight, legendary mountaineer Bachendri Pal was awarded the Padma Bhushan – India’s third-highest civilian honour.
Gambhir took to social media after the ceremony, and never one to shy away from expressing himself, thanked both his supporters and his critics on his special day.
The 37-year-old, who retired from all forms of cricket in December 2018, represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is, and played a vital hand in India’s title-winning campaigns at the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup, being the team’s highest scorer in the finals of both events.
Chhetri, arguably the most reverred footballer in the country, and India’s all-time highest goal-scorer, was also honoured for his contribution to Indian sport. The Bengaluru FC captain made a quick fly-by to the capital ahead of his team’s ISL final against FC Goa in Mumbai on Sunday, 17 March.
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