Bangalore: Wheelchair tennis star Boniface Prabhu among seven to get Padma Shri
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
New Delhi/Bangalore, Jan 25: Wheelchair tennis star H Boniface Prabhu has been chosen for the prestigious Padma Shri award.
He is among among the seven Padma Shri awardees announced on the eve of the 65th Republic Day. Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, squash queen Dipika Pallikal, Anjum Chopra (women's cricketer), Sunil Dabas (kabaddi), Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu and Mamta Sodha (mountaineering) are the others who will get Padma Shri.
Harry Boniface Prabhu
B K S Iyenger, Prof P Balaram, Dr K Radhakrishnan and Dr Kamini Rao
Other Padma awardees from Karnataka include yoga expert B K S Iyenger, Prof P Balaram, Dr K Radhakrishnan, and Dr Kamini Rao.
The Padma awards, India's highest civilian honour, will be presented by the president at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan around March-April.
Boniface Prabhu is a wheelchair tennis player of international fame. He is a quadriplegic by disability. Prabhu has competed in all the major Grand Slam Wheelchair Tennis Championships including the Australian Open, British Open, French Open and US Open. He is the first Indian wheelchair tennis player to reach the semi-finals and finals of all these tournaments.
He is the only Indian to be listed among World Wheelchair tennis rankings. He became the first Indian to win a medal at the 1998 World Championship, and in 1996 he won two gold medals and one silver medal at the World Wheelchair Games.
Born on May 14, 1972, Prabhu is an enthusiastic participant in other sporting activities as well. He has represented India over 50 times in 6 different sporting events including shot put, badminton, javelin and discus throw and won medals in many of them.
He founded the ‘Boniface Prabhu Wheelchair Tennis Academy’ to encourage, train and find new talent among the physically and intellectually challenged community. He has been the brand ambassador for various companies and products and is India’s brand ambassador for wheelchair tennis.
He is the recipient of various awards including the Prathiba Bhushan, Rising Star of the Millennium, Ekalavya and most importantly the Rajyotsava Award which is the highest award in the state.
In 2011, he was honoured with Daijiworld Weekly Swabhiman Appreciation Award.
Kamal Haasan, Vidya Balan get Padma awards
Noted scientist R.A. Mashelkar, actors Kamal Haasan and Vidya Balan, tennis player Leander Paes, cricketer Yuvraj Singh, and former chief justice of India J.S.Verma have been conferred the Padma awards on the occasion of the 65th Republic Day.
While Mashelkar and Iyengar were the two named for Padma Vibhushan, 24 eminent people including Verma, Haasan, writers Anita Desai and Ruskin Bond, badminton player P.Gopichand and Paes got the Padma Bhushan.
The 101 conferred the Padma Shri include Vidya Balan and Paresh Rawal, cricketers Yuvraj and Anjum Chopra, Odisha sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, and fashion designer Wendell Rodricks.
Padma Awards - the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred to eminent people for their contribution in the field of social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service.
The awards will be presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan around March/April.