In a first only women recommended for Padma Awards
By Anurag Mallick Published on 12 Sep 2019 8:38 AM GMT
Hyderabad: For the first time in the history of the Padma Awards, the sports ministry has recommended nine women for the awards.
Former world No.1 boxing champion and India's most successful boxer, Mary Kom has been nominated for Padma Vibhushan (second highest honour after the Bharat Ratna).
Notably, only three men in the past have been conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, i.e. V. Anand in 2007, Sachin Tendulkar and mountaineer Edmund Hillary (posthumously) in 2008.
Newly crowned World Badminton Champion P.B. Sindhu has been nominated for Padma Bhushan.
Sindhu was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2015 and was nominated for the Padma Bhushan back in 2017, but failed to make it to the final list.
The other seven women who have been nominated for the Padma Sri include Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Rani Rampal (Hockey), Harmanpreet Kaur (Cricket), Suma Shirur (Shooting), Manika Batra (Table Tennis) and the twins Tashi and Nungshi Malik (mountaineering).
These names have been sent to the Padma Awards Committee to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The selected awardees will be awarded on Jan 25, 2020, the eve of Republic Day.
