00:00Rohit Sharma, Harman Preet Kaur and tennis legend Vijay Amrit Raj are some of the biggest names from the sporting world to feature in this year's list of Padma awardees.
00:12The two cricketers will be receiving the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.
00:18Rohit's honour comes after a remarkable leadership run in men's cricket, guiding India to the T20 World Cup in 2024 and the Champions Trophy in 2025.
00:28Before retiring from T20s and Test cricket.
00:32Meanwhile, Harman Preet Kaur is being recognised for a historic moment in women's cricket, leading India to their first ever ICC Women's World Cup title in 2025 with a home final win in Navi Mumbai.
00:46Interestingly, tennis legend Vijay Amrit Raj will receive the Padma Bhushan, making him the only sportsperson to receive India's third highest civilian award this year.
00:56The award recognises Amrit Raj's pioneering role in taking Indian tennis to the global stage during the amateur and early Open era.
01:06A former Davis Cup star, he had earlier received the Padma Shri and the Arjuna Award and later served Indian sport in key administrative and ambassadorial roles.
01:16And joining us live is India Today's Harshit Ahuja.
01:22Harshit, the two stars, very recognisable name.
01:25Everyone knows him from cricket.
01:27And one star, everyone who was growing up in the 80s and the 90s knew him.
01:32You know, he brought tennis to the Indian TV and brought it to Indian consciousness.
01:38Tell us about them.
01:39Absolutely, all three names that you speak of, Anjali, are household names now.
01:45Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Vijay Amrit Raj are names that in cricket and tennis respectively ended up becoming household names for their sheer contribution to the sport.
01:57Let's start with the two young icons we were talking about.
02:00And at that, let's begin with Harmanpreet Kaur.
02:03Harmanpreet Kaur becoming the first women Indian captain to go on and end that jinx, get India that first ever World Cup.
02:11And we saw at home it came with its own pressures as well.
02:15India weren't doing well against teams that they eventually, in the knockout stages, ended up beating in the group stages.
02:20You were nowhere there as far as competing with those teams was concerned.
02:24So, the home pressure, but to finally end that jinx and get home a trophy, which at that point seemed like a bridge too far.
02:32But you ended that jinx and you did it at Nabi Mumbai, Nabi Mumbai's Diva Patal Stadium, as you pointed out, was something incredible.
02:40Rohit Sharma, unfortunate that he wasn't able to get India the 2023 World Cup.
02:45However, just a year later that, after that, you saw Rohit Sharma break another jinx for Indian cricket for far too long.
02:54You were waiting for that ICC champions tag over there, which wasn't there since a long, long time.
03:02Since 2013, you had not won a single ICC trophy, but Rohit Sharma ensuring with his leadership,
03:08which these young players continue to talk about a lot.
03:11It was said that Barbados, India will hoist its flag.
03:15That's exactly what we saw from Rohit Sharma, taking India's flag to the Caribbean and ensuring India emerged as champions.
03:22Vijay Amrit Raj, again, a very celebrated figure, as you pointed out, the open era, the early stages of it.
03:28And then later on as well, you know, to become the face of Indian tennis for all tennis lovers,
03:37especially when it comes to Wimbledon, he's the one face you're always looking forward to on the television screen.
03:42He's been bringing us tennis broadcasts, in particular Wimbledon broadcasts, for years and years across age groups.
03:49That's what Vijay Amrit Raj is for you.
03:52Of course, a player power excellence in his times as well.
03:55Made it to the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon and the US Open as well.
04:00All that remains is his top achievement as a player.
04:03But incredibly nice to see our sporting grades being honoured on the biggest stage.
04:08Absolutely. Thank you, Harshit.
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