Vijay Amritraj, India’s tennis great,ย was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Amritraj was conferred with the third-highest civilian honour for his contributions to the sport.ย
Amritraj was an Indian tennis legend and is a reputed administrator and commentator. He is the highest-ranked Indian in the ATP rankings, having reached No.16 in his playing days. He represented India for over two decades and led the team to the Davis Cup Finals in 1974 and 1987. Amritraj recorded famous wins over former world no.1 players John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and beat the eight-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors five times in eleven meetings.ย
Amritraj wasย inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July 2024 along with Leander Paes.ย The legendary Amritraj was awarded the prestigious Hall of Fame in 2022 and was inducted in the Contributor category for his contribution to the game. Amritraj and Paes were the first Asians to be part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
He also won the most ATP Tour singles titles, having clinched 15 crowns and also bagged 13 doubles titles. Amritraj reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open twice in men’s singles during his career.ย
Along with his playing achievements, Amritraj has also been a reputable administrator. He initiated the Britannia Amritraj Tennis (BAT) programme. It nurtured talents like Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman. He was also the president of the ATP Council and is now serving as the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association president.
Rohit Sharma, Savita Punia honoured with Padma Shri
Former India captains Rohit Sharma and Savita Punia were also honoured with the Padma Shri awards during the same ceremony.ย Sharma and Punia were honoured with the fourth-highest civilian award for their stellar contribution to cricket and hockey, respectively. Both have been legends in their field, with Rohit having led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy titles as captain. Punia was part of India’s historic hockey Olympics side that finished an inspiring fourth in the 2021 Tokyo Games, having defeated the mighty Australia in the quarterfinal. She is dubbed the Great Wall of India.ย
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