Padma Awards 2022: Neeraj Chopra, Sumit Antil among athletes to receive Padma Shri honor

Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award on Monday (March 28). He received the prestigious Padma Shri honor from Indian President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi earlier today.

Neeraj became the first Indian athlete in the track and field category to win an Olympic gold medal with a throw of 87.58m during his second attempt in the finals. Golden boy Neeraj Chopra was also facilitated with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, a top sporting honor for Indian athletics globally.

Indian Paralympians also received Padma Shri awards

The Indian contingent scripted history by winning a whopping 19 medals at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. It was the nation's best-ever tally in a single edition of the Paralympics. India won five gold medals, eight silver medals, and six bronze medals. India finished inside the top 25 at the Paralympic Games in the Japanese capital.

A few of the memorable performances were those of Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat and veteran Devendra Jhajharia. The hard work paid off for these athletes for their iconic performances.

Gold medal-winning javelin thrower Sumit Antil received the Padma Shri Award for his terrific performance at the 2021 Paralympics. He shattered his world record of 62.88m a staggering five times at the mega event.

Meanwhile, Pramod Bhagat, who won a gold medal in Tokyo in the men’s singles SL3 class category, was honored with the Padma Shri Award. He created history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to win a gold medal in badminton at the Paralympics.

Veteran Indian para-javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia was conferred with the prestigious Padma Bhushan on Monday (March 21). With this, the three-time Paralympic medalist became the first-ever para athlete to receive the Padma Bhushan honor.

Tokyo Paralympics double medalist shooter Avani Lekhara also received the Padma Shri for her incredible run. She scripted her name in India's para-history when she bagged two medals in the same edition of the Paralympics.

Avani won the gold medal in the R-2 Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 and bagged a bronze medal in the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 final at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.