Badminton Star Kidambi Srikanth Astonished At Being Conferred Padma Shri

Noted badminton player, Kidambi Srikanth on Tuesday was bestowed with Padma Shri Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, in  New Delhi. However, he was surprised when he got a call from the government informing Kidambi about his selection for the honor.

"I am really happy and excited at getting the Padma Shri this evening. In fact, I was surprised when I was informed that I have been shortlisted for the award," Srikanth said.

"I had applied thinking that I was eligible for this award. Glad that even the screening committee thought as much. This is really motivating," he further added.

Post winning the honor, the shuttler took to social media for expressing his happiness. The shuttler shared a picture of himself receiving the honor from Ram Nath Govind, President of India.  Kidambi captioned the snap, "I am very happy to receive the prestigious Padmashri Award and I would like to thank my Family, Coaches and Support Staff at the academy for always believing in me and taking good care of me. #padmaaward #padmaaward2018 #padmasriawardee #proudmoment #thankyouall."

With this, Kidambi became the second youngest sportsman in India to have got Padma Shri. Prior to this, PV Sindhu received the Padma honor at the age of 19.

Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman was also given Padma Shri. Murlikant Petkar, India's first Paralympic gold medallist, Murlikant Petkar also received the Padma Shri.

Former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and multiple world champion cueist Pankaj Advani were conferred with the country's third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan. While, 2017 World Weightlifting champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was conferred the Padma Shri.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 21, 2018 01:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).