Rohan Bopanna conferred with the Padma Shri Award
Courtesy of his sensational recent performances in the world of tennis, India’s veteran player Rohan Bopanna was bestowed with the Padma Shri award, the fourth-highest civilian award, by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday.
Bopanna has been making headlines in recent tournaments. Pairing with Australia's Matthew Ebden, the Indian tennis star won the Miami Open men’s doubles title in March.
Before that, he had won the Australian Open title after beating Italy's Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6, 7-5, in a thrilling final. With that win, he grabbed his second career Grand Slam title and it was his first in the men’s doubles category.
Bopanna had previously won a Grand Slam event in the mixed doubles category at the 2017 French Open. It is worth mentioning that Rohan Bopanna won the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open at the age of 43 years and 329 days, thus becoming the oldest player ever to have won a Grand Slam title.
Besides, the Indian tennis player is also the third Indian man in the Open Era to win a Major men's doubles title, following Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
Rohan Bopanna made the nation roar with joy at the Asian Games 2023. Pairing up with Rutuja Bhosale, the duo clinched a gold in the tennis mixed doubles event.
The veteran Indian star would be brimming with confidence ahead of the much-awaited Paris Olympics 2024.
Satendra Singh Lohia, Harbinder Singh also conferred with Padma Shri
Para-swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia and India’s former hockey player Harbinder Singh were also bestowed with the Padma Shri award by President Murmu. Harbinder Singh is a household name in Indian hockey and also served as an international-level coach.
He was part of India’s men’s hockey team that won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics. Harbinder went on to clinch bronze medals at the 1968 Mexico and 1972 Munich Olympics.
Archery coach Purmina Mohanto was also honored with the Padma Shri award by the President. The renowned archery star has played a pivotal role in taking Indian archery to great heights.
Among her notable achievements as a player was winning the Indian National Archery Championships and a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.