PT Usha's coach Madhavan Nambiar among 7 sportspersons awarded Padma Shri

The track and field event athlete PT Usha's coach Madhavan Nambiar, was awarded the Padma Shri award on Monday along with seven other sportspersons. Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced the names of 119 recipients including 1 duo award of the Padma awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country on the eve of the country's 72nd Republic Day. 

Madhavan was PT Usha's personal coach throughout her athletic career until her retirement in 1990. He was vocal about the use of drugs for performance-enhancing among Indian athletes and had blamed the foreign coaches for introducing Indian athletes to the illegal practice. 

Other recipients of Padma Awards

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe will be awarded Padma Vibhushan, one of the highest civilian Awards of India, by President Ramnath Kovind at ceremonial functions which will be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, former Principal Secretary to PM Nripendra Misra, former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan (posthumous), former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi (posthumous), and religious leader Kalbe Sadiq (posthumous) are among 10 recipients of the Padma Bhushan awards.

The Padma awards are conferred in three categories -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri, second, third, and fourth highest civilian awards of the country respectively, only after the Bharat Ratna. This year's list comprises seven Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan, and 102 Padma Shri Awards. A total of 29 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 16 Posthumous awardees, and one transgender awardee.

(With ANI Inputs)

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