NEW DELHI: The sports ministry and double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker struck a conciliatory note on Tuesday over the latter’s surprise exclusion from the list of recommended athletes for this year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. The snub to the shooter created a huge controversy, leading to severe criticism of the 12-member selection committee.
While Manu’s father Ram Bhaker continued his tirade against the ministry and the committee for ignoring his daughter’s credentials for the country’s highest sporting honour with the shooter’s personal coach Jaspal Rana, also joining the raging debate, the 22-year-old athlete caught in this storm broke her silence over the issue and admitted on Tuesday that there was a “lapse” on her part in filing the nomination.
In what looks like an effort to end the controversy, Manu posted a statement on ‘X’ where she said that awards and recognitions keep her motivated but aren’t her only goal. “With regards to the ongoing issue for my nomination for the most prestigious Khel Ratna award, I would like to state that as an athlete my role is to play and perform for my country. I believe there has been a lapse, maybe on my part, while filing for the nomination which is being corrected,” Manu wrote.
“Awards and recognition keeps me motivated but are not my goal. Irrespective of the award, I shall remain motivated to win more medals for my country. It is a request to everyone, please do not speculate on this,” she said.
Manu had been applying for the Khel Ratna for the last three years – 2021-2023 – but her achievements weren’t considered despite the shooter winning several medals at major multisport events. It’s been learnt that Manu was unhappy with the snub meted out to her by different awards committees and this could be a reason for her not applying this time.
Despite that, the selection panel should have taken cognizance of her achievements as a shooter over the years, including the two Paris Games medals. It’s been learnt that the ministry is actively considering nominating her name for the Khel Ratna by using its executive powers vested in the provisions of the National Sports Day awards scheme.
Rana, who returned to coach Manu exactly a year before the Paris Olympics, held the ministry, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) responsible for ignoring his ward’s credentials. “I will hold all of them responsible. Why should anyone even say Manu did not apply? Her name should have been there automatically. Don’t the people at the helm know who Manu Bhaker is? This humiliation might just affect her progress,” Rana was quoted as saying by a news agency.
HARVINDER UNHAPPY AT THE SNUB
Indian archer Harvinder Singh, who made history at the Paris Paralympics by clinching a gold medal in the men’s individual recurve open, has expressed his annoyance over the Khel Ratna snub. He became the first archer from the country to win gold in either the Paralympics or the Olympics and also achieved the distinction of being the only archer to secure medals in consecutive Paralympic editions. “Discrimination in sports. Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold medallists were awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, but what about Paris 2024 Paralympic gold medallists? Same competition, same gold, same pride, why not the same award?” he posted on X. In 2021, Tokyo Paralympics gold medallists Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil and Pramod Bhagat were all awarded the Khel Ratna.
