On Sunday, January 26, 2026, when India was celebrating the Republic Day, India’s women’s hockey goalkeeper, Savita Punia, was named for a major honour recognizing her contribution to the sport. She is among the 113 recipients to be given the Padma Shri award. Savita has been chosen for India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, which will be awarded by the President of India later this year.
As for Savita’s professional career brilliance, the Indian women’s hockey team goalkeeper with 308 caps has played a key role in India’s fourth-place finish in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Followed by that, she led the team to win a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a title victory in the FIH Nations League the same year.
Meanwhile, Savita, who struggled last year, is left quite emotional on receiving the recognition by the Indian government. Post the announcement of her award, Punia sat down in an exclusive interview with Sports Now and compared the feeling of happiness and the emotions she is undergoing to that of the year 2022 when she was named captain of India’s women’s hockey team.
She said, “I’m in disbelief that I have been conferred this prestigious honour. This is such an emotional feeling. I felt the same when I was made the captain of the team.”
Savita was named the captain in place of Rani Rampal, who was not available for a long duration due to an injury. She then went on to express her gratitude to her family and credited them for their unwavering support in her career growth.
“This award is for my family. They have supported me every step of the way. Today people respect me and my family. I have everything only because of hockey in my life” she added.”
After creating an established career today, Savita hopes she can inspire the next generation of young female hockey players to take up the sport.
“I hope I can become a role model for all the young girls — if I can do it, they can too,” she concluded.
List of Indian Sportspersons Selected for Padma Shri
From India Women’s ODI World Cup captain Harmanpreet Kaur to Punia, to Rohit Sharma, and others, a total of nine sportspersons have been named as recipients of the Padma Shri Awards 2026 on Sunday.
- Harmanpreet Kaur (Cricket) – Padma Shri
- Savita Punia (Hockey) – Padma Shri
- K Pajanivel (Silambam coach) – Padma Shri
- Praveen K (Para high jumper) – Padma Shri
- Rohit Sharma (Cricket) – Padma Shri
- Vladimir Mestvirishvili (Wrestling) – Padma Shri (Posthumous)
- Vijay Amritraj (Tennis) – Padma Bhushan
- Baldev Singh (Hockey) – Padma Shri
- Bhagwandas Raikwar (Bundeli war art trainer) – Padma Shri
