The Padma Awards Ceremony 2026 featured several well-known personalities from Indian sport, including the veteran hockey player Savita Punia, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, former captain of the Indian team Rohit Sharma, martial arts master Bhagwandas Raikwar of Bundelkhand who is no more, and trainer Vladimir Mestvirishvili. The awards were conferred upon by Droupadi Murmu at the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Among the key recipients, Savita Punia received the Padma Shri for her contribution to Indian hockey, while Bhagwandas Raikwar was awarded the Padma Shri posthumously for helping bring international recognition to Bundelkhand’s traditional weapon-based Akhada art form. His son Rajkumar Raikwar accepted the honour on his behalf. The Padma Awards ceremony also saw Vladimir Mestvirishvili receive a posthumous Padma Shri, making him the first foreign coach to be honoured with a Padma award.
Sporting achievements highlighted during the Padma Awards ceremony
This acknowledgment is following her long and illustrious career on the world stage. Savita Punia was the second goalkeeper from India after PR Sreejesh to notch up 300 international caps when that came true in 2025. Her efforts have been vital to India’s unprecedented fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics and India qualifying for the Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years for the women’s team.
The Padma Awards also celebrated Vijay Amritraj, who was conferred with the Padma Bhushan. During a career spanning more than two decades, Amritraj reached world rankings of 18 in singles and 23 in doubles, while winning 15 singles and 13 doubles titles. His achievements made him one of India’s most accomplished tennis players.
Rohit Sharma and other notable names recognised at Padma Awards 2026
One such famous name that won Padma Shri this time is former captain of Indian cricket team Rohit Sharma. Sharma was awarded Padma Shri for his contributions to the sport of cricket in India, especially for leading the Indian team to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
This year’s Padma Awards are being given out in installments. While during the first civil investiture ceremony 66 Padma Awards were bestowed, during the second ceremony 65 Padma Awards will be given. Among the 65 awards are two Padma Vibhushan, seven Padma Bhushan and 56 Padma Shri awards.
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Khalid Qasid is a media enthusiast with a strong interest in documentary filmmaking. He holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC. He has also written extensively on esports at Sportsdunia. Currently, he covers world and general news at NewsX Digital.
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