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Archery coach Purnima Mahato expressed her delight after she was conferred with Padma Shri.
"It feels really nice I never thought that I would reach such a level. I am really happy. I have won a lot of awards but in national awards, I have the Dronacharya award and now Padma Shri. I am missing my parents," Purnima told ANI. Mahato an archer turned coach was a former national champion and also served as the coach of India's archery team. She has personally coached 2012 Summer Olympian Deepika Kumari. She was recognised for her efforts and awarded with the Dronacharya Award in 2013. Mahato is among the seven sportspersons who are honoured with Padma Shri. India's Tennis star Rohan Bopanna, squash player Joshna Chinappa, former field hockey player Harbinder Singh, international Mallakhamb coach Uday Vishwanath Deshpande, para-badminton team's head coach Gaurav Khanna and para swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia are the rest of the sportspersons. Bopanna at the age of 43, secured the top spot in the ATP rankings and became the oldest World No. 1 after surpassing Rajeev Ram of the USA, who held the first place at the age of 38 in October 2022. Joshna Chinappa won a bronze medal along with Tanvi Khanna and Anahat Singh in the Hangzhou Asian Games. It was her fifth medal in the Asian Games, as her first medal (bronze) came in women's singles in the 2018 Jakarta Games. Her other three medals included one bronze and two silver medals in the team events. Harbinder Singh was a member of the gold medal team in 1966 and a silver medal winner as captain in 1970. He also participated in international hockey tournaments, which saw India triumph in Lyon, France in 1963 and Hamburg, West Germany in 1966.In 1986. Harbinder was chosen as chief coach of the bronze medal-winning women's team in the Asian Games. He was also a part of India's team that won the gold medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. (ANI)
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