The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has finally come out with the notification for the annual sports awards. This time, again, there is slight tweaking, with the Dhyan Chand lifetime award being done away with. It will henceforth be called the Arjuna Award for lifetime achievement. Tweaking award names and nomenclature is nothing new. It is a government decision.
What is strange is that under existing rules the big stars from the Paris Olympics who have already won the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in the past, will go empty handed. It means, javelin king Neeraj Chopra, who won a silver in Paris is ineligible for any national sports award. The same goes for rock star of Indian hockey, PR Sreejesh, who retired recently. He has taken up a coaching assignment with the national junior team as well as being director of the Delhi franchise in the Hockey India League, starting end of December.
It is assumed Manu Bhaker, who won a historic two medals and finished fourth in the sports pistol event will be a front-runner for the Khel Ratna Award this time. There will be more contenders from Para sports as well, with India winning 29 medals in Paris. The Sports Ministry came out with a notification on Thursday evening inviting applications on an online portal, which is open till November 14.
Firstly, this whole process should change. Athletes who have brought glory to the country being made to apply for awards is not really a respectful way to go about it. A couple of athletes RevSportz spoke to were disappointed their feats in Paris does not get automatic recognition. A similar process has been adopted for the Padma awards as well, where anybody could have applied till September 15 this year.
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One must not confuse the national sports awards with the Padma awards. The sports awards come directly under the MYAS but there seems to be a slant towards directly inviting nominations rather than relying upon national sports federations to make recommendations. It is well known, the NSFs have sent in names in the past, including the BCCI. Cricket gets low priority, which is unfortunate in many ways. Having won the ICC T20 World Cup this summer, how can the MYAS ignore the cricketers and outgoing coach Rahul Dravid.
What is even more problematic is once an athlete has won a Khel Ratna, he or she cannot apply for it again. Sample this, two standout performers from Paris 2024, Neeraj Chopra and PR Sreejesh will not get any award this time. How come nobody in the Sports Ministry thought it worthwhile to tweak the policy or come up with a new idea. Does it make sense, Neeraj, who won gold in Tokyo and got the Khel Ratna gets nothing this time for his silver medal. The same goes for Sreejesh, whose superb performance in the bronze-medal winning match in Paris will not get him an award. India winning two back-to-back Olympic medals in Tokyo and Paris is historic and should have been recognised.
If one looks at the Oscars or Grammy, are there not repeat winners? Surely, Neeraj and Sreejesh come under that category. It would be a travesty if they are not paraded in the Rashtrapati Bhawan when the awards ceremony finally takes place. No dates are known as yet.
Have not Neeraj Chopra and PR Sreejesh returned to India amidst thunderous applause? More thought should have gone into how the two biggest icons should be recognised and celebrated.
What is going on in wrestling is hugely disappointing as well. The damage done is intense, with the Wrestling Federation of India now pulling out the team from the World Championship to be held in Tirana, Albania, from October 28. The federation has written to the world body (UWW) on government interference and infringement of autonomy. Why the Sports Ministry has placed the federation under suspension is still a mystery.
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