Virat Kohli and Sakshi Malik win Padma awards

Other sportspersons to be felicitated include Dipa Karmakar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, PR Sreejesh and Vikas Gowda

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Virat Kohli and Sakshi Malik are in the fray for this year’s Padma awards. (Source: file)

Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik are among those in the to be conferred the Padma awards. Others include gymnast Dipa Karmakar, disc thrower Vikas Gowda, Indian hockey captain PR Sreejesh, and Paralympic gold medallist Thangavellu Mariyappan.

Virat Kohli has been captain of the Indian Test team since 2014. Earlier in January, he was made captain of India’s ODI and T20 setup after MS Dhoni resigned from the post. Kohli then led India to a 2-1 victory over England in the recently concluded ODI series. As Test captain, India have been unbeaten in 18 consecutive matches under Kohli and is also the number one side in the ICC Test rankings.

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Sakshi Malik won India’s first medal in the Rio Olympics 2016. She is the first Indian female wrestler and the fourth female Indian athlete overall to win an Olympic medal. Thangavelu Mariyappan won the gold medal at the Paralympics that followed the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It is the first time ever that India has won a medal in the event.

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PR Sreejesh is recognised as one of the best hockey goalkeepers in the world and has led the Indian team through a turnaround in their fortunes. He has won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy and has been nominated once for the Best Male Goalkeeper. He was part of the Indian Junior hockey setup as mentor. The team went on to clinch the 2016 Junior Hockey World Cup, the first time India won the title in more than a decade.

Dipa Karmakar may have missed out on a medal at the Rio Olympics but was lauded for her effort. She was India’s first representative in the Olympics gymnastics competition in more than 52 years and finished fourth. Disc thrower Vikas Gowda has represented India four times in the Olympics and is recognised as one India’s best exports in the sport.