The Indian President, Droupadi Murmu, presented Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami with the Arjuna Award on Tuesday, January 9. With his outstanding performance in the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023, Mohammed Shami emerged as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. Mohammed Shami journey from the marble floors of Rashtrapati Bhavan to the cobblestone streets of Uttar Pradesh can inspire every aspirational Indian.
The Arjuna Award is the second most coveted athletic honor for any athlete, right behind the Khel Ratna. President Murmu gave 26 outstanding athletes, including the Indian sprinter, the Arjuna Awards. This Tuesday, January 9, a celebration of sporting prowess took place in New Delhi. The voyage of the right-arm pacers in the 2023 ODI World Cup was nothing short of remarkable. After being benched for the first four games, on October 19, Hardik Pandya met an untimely end to his ankle injury against Bangladesh.
Seizing the chance, he returned with a bang to the starting lineup. His remarkable five-wicket haul in the round-robin match against New Zealand signaled his comeback and laid the stage for an incredible run. The pacer’s incredible success persisted as he left his mark on the rankings of the competition with an incredible 24-wicket haul. With this incredible achievement, he overtook the great Jasprit Bumrah, underscoring his crucial part in India’s campaign.
Mohammed Shami: India’s man of momentous occasions
When considering the 33-year-old’s skill, his influence goes beyond the most recent World Cup. His extraordinary abilities were on display at the 2019 ODI World Cup as he took Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s position in the injured lineup. He made history by becoming the second Indian player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match against Afghanistan. He finished with 4/40, which is a record that only a few players in the ICC World Cup have ever achieved.
26 athletes were honored by the Arjuna Awards for their outstanding achievements in 2023; many of them were Asian Games athletes. India had a historic triumph at the 2023 Asian Games in China, winning a record 107 medals. This incredible accomplishment surpassed the previous national record of 70 medals won at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.