Jumbo sports awards list named, no Arjuna for Sakshi, Mirabai
Selecting five Khel Ratnas - Rohit Sharma, Vinesh Phogat, Rani Rampal, Manika Batra and Mariyappan Thangavelu - had already been seen as too many and the overall list only reinforced that sentiment.
The sports ministry ignored the Arjuna award claims of woman wrestler Sakshi Malik and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu despite having received the top Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna prize as it announced a huge list of awardees on Friday.
The extensive national sports list included five Khel Ratna, 27 Arjuna, 13 Dronacharya (regular and lifetime in coaching) and 15 Dhyan Chand (lifetime sports award), which, coming in a non-Olympic year with months spent in lock down, has faced criticism.
The Arjuna awardees include India pacer Ishant Sharma, women’s team all-rounder Deepti Sharma, woman sprinter Dutee Chand and young shooting stars, Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary. Three para athletes are among the Arjuna awardees.
Selecting five Khel Ratnas - Rohit Sharma, Vinesh Phogat, Rani Rampal, Manika Batra and Mariyappan Thangavelu - had already been seen as too many and the overall list only reinforced that sentiment.
The sports ministry’s ‘Scheme of Arjuna Awards’ says not more than 15 can be chosen in a year. The rule can be relaxed if there are impressive performances in the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics. More than one athlete in a discipline can also be recommended.
The sheer number of athletes chosen in a non-Games year has raised questions about the sanctity of the awards. There have been glaring omissions too. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games gold, has been ignored for Khel Ratna while track legend PT Usha was not nominated for the Dronacharya award in coaching.
A large number of applications were received this year after the ministry allowed athletes to apply themselves. The 12-member committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Mukundakam Sharma gave its recommendation on Tuesday. The panel had left it to the ministry to decide on the applications of Sakshi Malik and Mirabai Chanu.
Malik, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist, was awarded Khel Ratna in 2016 and Padma Shri in 2017. Chanu received both in 2018, after winning the world championships the previous year. Both had said they wanted Arjuna too.
“This is not an Olympic year and still we have five Khel Ratnas,” said a surprised Sushil Kumar, the double Olympic-medal winning wrestler. “You give three-four Khel Ratnas in an Olympic year if there are good performances. That is truly deserving; now this being done in normal circumstances has brought down the importance of these awards.
“Also, the committee should have seen the performance at world level; everyone should be measured by the same parameters. You can have one athlete getting Khel Ratna for performance in the world championship and another for a level lower,” he said. “But players cannot be faulted. I wish them all the best.”
Former national badminton champion and long-time coach Vimal Kumar, who has earlier served in the awards panel, said federations must recommend only genuine cases and norms for the awards must change. “This whole process of applying has to go. It is the job of federations to monitor and forward their best recommendations. In the past athletes have suffered because of them. They must be transparent and made accountable,” said the Dronacharya awardee coach.
“Also, these are the highest sporting honours. Arjuna should be given only in the twilight of a sportsperson’s career and Khel Ratna for consistent international performance in a career.”
The ministry is likely to clear a proposal to increase the cash award for Khel Ratna to R25 lakh from R7.5 lakh and for Arjuna to R15 lakh from R5 lakh. Sushil Kumar welcomed the move, though not everyone was happy.
“The sports awards have become more about incentives - money and promotions in jobs - and less about pride,” bemoaned a former India hockey player and a former member of the awards panel. “It should be made a civilian award without cash incentives.
“The deserving candidate misses out several times. For Dronacharya, you never see a grassroots coach being felicitated. Every panel recommends some changes, but are they being implemented?”
The selection committee is supposed to go by specific guidelines and a marks criterion that was introduced for transparency. An athlete is given points for winning medals in multi-disciplinary events like Olympics, world championships and continental championships over a four-year cycle. Weight is also given for the profile and standard of meets.
“Is the marks system being followed? Going by the recent recommendations, it doesn’t appear so,” Sushil said.
