Padma Bhushan for Anand

Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, who won the World chess championship at the fag end of last year, has been awarded the Padma Bhushan, in the Republic Day honours list.

The ace tennis duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, and mercurial hockey player Dhanraj Pillay have been conferred the Padma Shri.

Bhuwaneshwari Kumari, who earned a place in the Guiness Book of World Records by winning the national squash title 16 times in a row, also gets the Padma Shri as does disabled athlete Malati Holla.

Veteran sports journalist and owner of Bombay daily Mid-Day, Khalid Ansari too is honoured with the Padma Shri.