Kalaripayattu, Thang Ta, Cricket coaches among 91 Padma Shri awardees

Three Indian sporting icons - Gurucharan Singh, SRD Prasad, and K Shanthaoiba Sharma, were among the 91 names announced by the Indian government for the Padma Shri awards on Wednesday.

While Gurucharan Singh is an 87-year-old cricket coach from Delhi, SRD Prasad is a Kalaripayattu artist and K Shanthaoiba Sharma practices Thang Ta.

Gurucharan Singh is a former coach of the Indian cricket team and was also awarded the Dronacharya Award way back in 1987.

SRD Prasad, who hails from Kerala, is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from 2016 for his contribution to the martial art of Kalaripayattu. He has also prepared the Kalaripayattu course for Mumbai's famous Nalanda Dance Academy.

On the other hand, K Shanthaoiba Sharma is a renowned Thang Ta coach from Manipur.

The President of India, on Wednesday, approved the 106 Padma awardees - Padma Shri, Padma Bushan, and Padma Vibushan, for 2023, which included these three sportspersons.