Gopi Chand, Rathore, Randhawa awarded Padma Shree

deepikaglobal.com - Sports News Detail: "Olympics silver medal winner shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, former All England Champion P Gopi Chand, athlete Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and ace para-jumper Rachel Thomas are the four sportspersons who have been honoured with Padma Shree on the occasion of the 56th Republic Day.

For Rathore, the only Indian to have won an individual silver in the Olympics so far, it was a great day as he scored a rare double -- awarded both a civilian as well as a defence honour on the occasion of the country's 56th Republic Day.

Rathore, been named for the Civilian honour Padma Shree in the sports category and awarded the country's second highest defence award for distinguished service, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. This is for the first time that an individual has been honoured by two awards on the occasion of the Republic Day.

P Gopi Chand is the only second Indian after Prakash Padukone to have won the All England Badminton title. The ace Hyderabadi shuttler has also represented India in two Olympics and has won several national and international titles.

For Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, the award comes rather late in the day. The ace athlete won a gold in decathlon in 1962 Jakarta Olympics and had finished fifth in 110m hurdles in 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His national hurdle record stood for more than 30 years before being improved upon.

Rachel Thomas is a ace para jumper and she has won several Para Gliding events. She is the first women para glider in the country."