Neeraj Chopra, Vandana Katariya to be honored with Padma Shri, Devendra Jhajharia wins Padma Bhushan

The 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set to be conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri Award. He will be awarded on the eve of the 73rd Republic Day.

Neeraj became only the second individual Indian athlete after Abhinav Bindra to be crowned Olympic champion last year.

The 24-year-old Olympic gold medallist took to social media to express his gratitude at being conferred with the honor.

Neeraj said:

"I am delighted to know that I am being conferred the Padma Shri award and Param Vishisht Seva Medal. Thank you for all your support and well wishes. My hard work and efforts will always be to deliver my best performance."

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Apart from Neeraj, Indian women's hockey forward Vandana Kataria will also be awarded the Padma Shri. She has been an integral part of Indian hockey for over a decade now.

Vandana was a part of the Indian team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. Earlier, the hockey forward completed 250 international caps for India at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 in Muscat, Oman on January 21.

Other athletes honored with Padma Awards

Three-time Paralympic medallist Devendra Jhajharia will receive prestigious Padma Bhushan for his brilliant performance in Tokyo. Jhajharia bagged a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the Men's Javelin throw - F46 event.

Jhajharia has two gold medals in the javelin throw event at the Paralympic Games, 2004 Athens and more recently in Rio 2016.

Meanwhile, Pramod Bhagat became the first ever para-shuttler to be a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri Award. Four-time world champion Pramod scripted history by becoming the first Indian ever to win badminton gold at the Paralympics.

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