Dhoni, Sindhu, and Gopichand to receive Padma awards
Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, and her coach Pullela Gopichand are set to feature in the Padma award list on the Republic day of India. Without specifying the Padma category, the Home Ministry has confirmed these names according to reports.
The Central Government has cleared the names of MS Dhoni, PV Sindhu, and Pullela Gopichand for the Padma awards according to a report published by the Indian Express. Last year, World Championship medal winner Deepika Kumari and renowned sports commentator Sushil Doshi were bestowed with the Padma Shri award in the sports category, while Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal won the Padma Bhushan award. The Padma Vibhushan award – India’s second-highest civilian award – has not been received by a sportsman since Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Viswanathan Anand won it in 2008, though.
Interestingly, PV Sindhu has already won the Padma Shri award in 2015, and she was the youngest to do so at the age of 19. Hence, she is likely to be awarded the Padma Bhushan – the third-highest civilian award – after her heroics in the Rio Olympics. Her coach Gopichand had also won the Padma Bhushan award in 2014 and could become the first sportsperson to win the Padma Vibhushan award in nine years.
Similarly, World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni, who has now stepped down from limited-overs captaincy, has already received the Padma Shri award in 2009. He is likely to be awarded the Padma Bhushan award this time around.