Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, President, All India Council of Sports (AICS) has congratulated the Padma Awardees of the year.

In a press statement issued today AICS Chief said that women dominated this year’s Padma Awards in various fields especially in Sports. Central Government is working relentlessly for the empowerment of the women of the country. It was also reflected in the Padma Awards, 19 of the awardees are women. Three Women Sports Stars from different disciplines are among the 19 Women Padma Awardees.

Prof. Malhotra congratulated tennis star Sania Mirza and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on being conferred with the Padma Bhushan and archer Deepika Kumari for the Padmashree and thanked the government for recognising their exceptional and distinguished services in the field of sports. They all have brought many laurels for the country in their respective sports. The awards have been conferred in the year Olympic and these awards will surely motivate them to improve their performance in the Rio Olympics 2016. He also congratulated Sushil Doshi for getting the Padmashree Award for his contribution towards Sports-commentary.

It’s a great honour to the Sports family of the country and will surely encourage the millions of youth to take sports seriously. Games and sports are essential for development of human resources and play an important role in projecting the image of the country at international level, Prof. Malhotra said.