"Great day for me and squash" - Joshna Chinappa opens up on getting honored with Padma Shri

India's premier squash player Joshna Chinappa expressed her happiness at winning the coveted Padma Shri by the Government of India on Thursday, May 9. She was one of the seven sports personalities to receive the honor.

Chinappa clinched the bronze medal in the Asian Games 2023 held in Hangzhou. The women's squash team, comprising Tanvi Khanna and Anahat Singh lost 1-2 to Hong Kong in the semi-finals.

The veteran athlete, who turned pro in 2003, has bagged two medals for India in Commonwealth Games, and five medals in the Asian Games.

Other sportspersons to win the Padma Shri were, Rohan Bopanna, Uday Vishwanath Deshpande, Harbinder Singh, Satendra Singh Lohia, Purnima Mahato, and Gaurav Khanna.

Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award, bestowed upon players for their impressive performances in the sports field.

Here's what Chinappa said to the media after getting honored with the Padma Shri award:

"It feels great to be here receiving the Padma Shri from the President. I feel very excited to be here. It's a great day for me and for squash. Just being recognized for all my efforts towards the game feels good. I was 9 years old when I started and my dream was always to play for India 27 years later I am finally here receiving such a prestigious award...I would thank the Central Government for recognizing sport and my contribution to squash in India."

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Joshna Chinappa bagged a gold medal in CWG 2014

In the 2014 edition of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow, Joshna Chinappa returned with one of her finest performances.

Chinappa paired up with Dipika Pallikal in the doubles event and won every group match to advance to the quarter-finals, where they prevailed over Joelle King and Amanda Land-Murphy. They overcame the challenge of Rachael Grinham and Kasey Brown in the semi-finals.

Then, with a scoreline of 11-6, 11-8, the duo of Chinappa-Pallikal clinched the gold medal against Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro. It was the country's maiden squash medal in the CWG.