Kohli, 8 others named for Padma Shri
New Delhi: Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli was among the eight sportspersons who were on Wednesday picked for the prestigious Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award. Besides Kohli, the seven other sportspersons named for the award are Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik, Paralympians Mariyappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Indian hockey captain P R Sreejesh, discus thrower Vikas Gowda and blind cricket team captain Shekar Naik. Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the women's 58kg wrestling while Thangavelu and Deepa Malik bagged a gold and silver in the men's high jump T-42 and women's shot put F53 categories respectively at the Rio Paralympics.
Sindhu, Srikanth in pre-quarters lucknow
Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu hardly broke any sweat but defending champion Kidambi Srikanth had to toil hard to advance to the prequarterfinals of the $120,000 Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here on Wednesday. Sindhu tested the conditions at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium en route to her easy 21-9, 21-11 win over compatriot Anura Prabhudesai in a lop-sided women's singles contest, while third seed Srikanth staved off a spirited challenge from fellow Indian lakhanee Sarang 15-21, 21-7, 21-14 in his opening men's singles match before notching up a 21-5, 21-12 win over Malaysia's Zulhelmi Zulkiffli. The 21-year-old Sindhu will face another Indian lalita Dahiya, while third seed Srikanth, who is coming back after recovering from an ankle injury, will face compatriot Ansal Yadav.
Sreejesh in running for FIH award
lausanne: Inspirational men's team captain PR Sreejesh and fast-rising drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh are the two Indians in contention for different honours at the FIH annual awards which will be given away in a formal ceremony for the first time, in Chandigarh on February 23. While Sreejesh is in the running for FIH Goalkeeper of the Year, the 18-year-old Harmanpreet is in fray for the Rising Star of the Year trophy. The awards will honour the best players, goalkeepers, rising stars, coaches and umpires. Sreejesh had led India to the Asian Champions Trophy crown and a silver medal at the Champions Trophy last year. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet, on the other hand, played a key role in the junior team's World Cup triumph in lucknow. This will be the first Awards ceremony by FIH.