Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur honoured with Padma Shri; Know full list of awardees here

Former India captain Rohit Sharma and current India women's skipper Harmanpreet Kaur have been conferred with the Padma Shri award for their incredible contributions to the game. Notably, Team India won two ICC titles in a gap of 12 years under Rohit Sharma's captaincy. On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur guided India's Women's Team to their maiden World Cup title in 2025, defeating South Africa in the title decider at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. 

President Droupadi Murmu has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards, including 2 duo cases (where the Award is counted as one), an official statement said.

These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions, which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year.

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Why Georgia's Vladimer Mestvirishvili conferred with Padam Shri?

Late Vladimir Mestvirishvili is a legendary coach who trained some of India's notable athletes, including Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Bajrang Punia during their early days. He came to India in 2003 and shaped  Sushil and Yogeshwar in their early years, with both of them qualifying for the Athens Olympics in 2004.

He was with the Indian team until 2017, following which Sushil brought him back to coach at Chhatrasal Stadium, where he worked with Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia. He also coached Divya Kakran during this time.

What is Padma Shri?

The Padma Shri is one of India’s highest civilian honours, awarded by the Government of India to recognise distinguished contributions in various fields, including arts, education, literature, sports, medicine, social work, public affairs, and more. It is the fourth-highest civilian award in India, after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan. This award was instituted in  1954.