Veteran table tennis player Mouma Das and athletics legend PT Usha’s coach Madhavan Nambiar were among seven sportspersons awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India on the eve of the country’s 72nd Republic Day.
Besides Das and the great athletics coach, better known as OM Nambiar, former India women’s basketball team captain P Anitha, long-distance runner Sudha Singh, former Indian wrestler Virender Singh, para athlete KY Venkatesh and mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa have also been honoured with the country’s fourth highest civilian award in the sports category.
Every year, the award winners are announced on the eve of Republic Day. The Padma awardees are felicitated by the President of India.
Das, who won the Arjuna Award in 2013, became only the second table tennis player after Achanta Sharath Kamal to win the Padma Shri. Sharath won the recognition in 2019.
“I became mother in December 2019 and didn’t get to play after that because of the Covid…