Republic Day 2026: Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur honoured with Padma Shri award; Vijay Amritraj receives Padma Bhushan
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Republic Day 2026: Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur honoured with Padma Shri award; Vijay Amritraj receives Padma Bhushan")
Republic Day 2026: Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur honoured with Padma Shri award Photograph: (AFP)
In an announcement made by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday (Jan 25) on the eve of India’s 77th Republic Day, Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur were awarded the prestigious honour.
Legendary Indian cricket duo Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur have been honoured with the Padma Shri award, the nation’s fourth-highest civilian award, for their excellent service in the sport. In an announcement made by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday (Jan 25) on the eve of India’s 77th Republic Day, Rohit and Harmanpreet were awarded the prestigious honour. The list also saw Vijay Amritraj, former tennis player, awarded with Padma Bhushan for his services to the sport.
Rohit, Harmanpreet awarded with Padma Shri
Having enjoyed a sensational 2025, Rohit led the Indian men’s cricket team to Champions Trophy 2025 glory in the UAE in March. Months later, on November 2, India’s women’s team scripted history as they won the ODI World Cup for the first time, with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur playing a key role. While being the captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit has forged great numbers, losing just one match in the last three ICC tournaments. Under Rohit’s captaincy, India had previously won the 2024 T20 World Cup and were runners-up in the 2023 ODI World Cup and World Test Championship (WTC).
Harmanpreet’s success comes after she helped India win their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup. The Women in Blue beat South Africa in the final while beating record champions Australia in the semis. Harmanpreet has also won the Women’s Premier League (WPL) twice, doing so with the Mumbai Indians in 2023 and 2025.
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Vijay Amritraj awarded with Padma Bhushan
On the other hand, legendary tennis player Vijay Amritraj was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, for his services to the game. Amritraj, who defeated greats of the game like Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe amongst elites, led India to two Davis Cup runner-up finishes in 1974 and 1987. His career high ATP rank of No.16 is the highest for any player in the singles circuit. Amritraj was a two-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 1973 and 1982, while also reaching the same feat at the US Open in 1973 and 1974.
Elsewhere, Indian women’s hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, Baldev Singh, Bhagwandas Raikwar, K Pajanivel, and Praveen Kumar will all be given Padma Shris. Meanwhile, deceased Georgian wrestling coach Vladimir Mestvirishvili will receive the Padma Shri posthumously.
