On Tuesday, India’s pacesetter Mohammed Shami was among the athletes honored with the Arjuna Award, which is given each year for extraordinary success in sports and games.
Shami was part of the Indian side that finished second in the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. The 33-year-old was also the best wicket-taker in India’s World Cup, collecting 24 scalps in just seven matches.
While the Indian cricket team was devastated to lose both the World Test Championship and the World Cup to Australia, one guy enjoyed an outstanding year with the ball. Mohammed Shami won the semi-finals against New Zealand with 7/57 following a spectacular World Cup campaign in which he collected 24 wickets in only seven games. Shami also has the most wickets by an Indian in World Cup history, with 55 in 18 games.
While Shami may not have been able to win the trophy despite giving his all on the game, the Arjuna Award is long deserved recognition for one of India’s best cricketers.
Thankful Note By Shami
Shami posted a video of the award ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on social media, writing,“Today I am feeling very proud that I have been honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award by the President. I want to thank all those people who have helped me a lot to reach here and have always supported me in my ups and downs. “Thanks to my coach, BCCI, teammates, my family, staff and big thanks to my fans. Thanks to recognise my hard work. I will always try to give my best to make my country proud,” he added.
Earlier, after being named the recipient of the Arjuna honour, Mohammed Shami stated, “This honour is a dream; life passes and individuals are unable to achieve this prize. I am pleased to have been nominated for this award…”
History of Arjuna Award in Cricket
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports bestows the Arjuna Award for Cricket in India in recognition of great performances on the world cricket scene. The award recognises the athlete’s accomplishments during the previous four years, as well as “qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and a sense of discipline.”
The recipient of the Arjuna Award receives a bronze statue of Arjuna, an accomplished archer and one of the Pandavas from the Indian mythology epic Mahabharata. Winners of the Arjuna Award get a diploma, ceremonial attire, and a financial reward of INR 15 lakh. The honour is traditionally presented during National Sports Day, which takes place on August 29 of each year.
The Arjuna Award has been given to 58 cricketers, 12 of them are women. Former cricket leaders such as Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli have been honoured with the Arjuna Award.
Other Arjuna Awardees
Other winners of the award were wrestler Antim Panghal, a former junior world champion and bronze medalist at the senior tournament last year, boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin (bronze medalist at last year’s world championship), and athlete Parul Chaudhary.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received the coveted Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for a breakout 2023 in which they won their first Asian Games gold – a first for India in badminton – as well as the Asian Championships and Indonesia Open Super 1000 titles.
Among all awardees, Sheetal Devi, young 16 years old para-archer who bagged two gold medals in Asian games 2023.Devi was born with phocomelia, a rare medical disease that renders her the first and only international para-archery champion without upper limbs.
Arjuna Awards for 2023: Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery), Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Murali Sreeshankar (athletics), Parul Chaudhary (athletics), Mohammad Hussamuddin (boxing), R Vaishali(chess), Mohammed Shami (cricket), Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Divyakriti Singh (equestrian dressage), Diksha Dagar (golf), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey), Sushila Chanu (hockey), Pawan Kumar (kabaddi), Ritu Negi (kabaddi), Nasreen (kho-kho), Pinki (lawn bowls), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), Esha Singh (shooting), Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (squash), Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis), Sunil Kumar (wrestling), Antim Panghal (wrestling), Naorem Roshibina Devi (wushu), Sheetal Devi (para archery), Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (blind cricket), Prachi Yadav (para canoeing).
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