MumbaI: India’s shooting sensation Manu Bhaker scripted history earlier this year at the Paris Olympics when she won two bronze medals, becoming the first woman athlete from the country to win two medals in a single edition of the Games.
Bhaker first won the bronze in 10m air pistol and then combined with fellow shooter Sarabjot Singh to clinch a second bronze in 10m mixed team event. The 22-year-old came back strongly from a pistol malfunction four years ago in Tokyo, to end India’s medal drought.
Naturally, Bhaker was expected to be nominated for the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. In fact, she had put a post on social media in October asking her followers if she deserved the Khel Ratna award, but deleted it after facing backlash online.
However, it has now emerged that Bhaker has not been nominated for the prestigious award, which celebrates and honours the achievements of athletes. The shooter’s name does not feature in the list doing the rounds, which has men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh, under whose captaincy India won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar, who won gold in the men’s high jump T64 class with an Asian record at the Paris Paralympics.
Why wasn’t Manu Bhaker nominated for Khel Ratna award?
A Times of India report quotes sports ministry officials as saying that Manu Bhaker’s name does not feature in the nominations for the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award because she did not apply for it.
The claim has, however, been refuted by sources close to Bhaker’s family, says media report.
Apparently, the 12-member selection committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V. Ramasubramanian did not take suo motu cognisance of her performance at the Paris Olympics. For instance, last year, India pacer Mohammed Shami was honoured with the Arjuna Award upon the BCCI’s insistence, though he did not apply for it.
Manu Bhaker’s father lashes out after Khel Ratna snub
In an exclusive interaction with Sports Tak, Manu Bhaker’s father Ram Kishan lambasted the committee members for being “silent”. “What’s the point of getting two medals in single Olympics if you have to beg for awards,” he said. “One government official is deciding and committee members are silent, and not giving their opinion. I don’t understand. Is this the way you are encouraging athletes?” Kishan said.
“We had applied for the award but have heard nothing from the committee,” he added. “Why are parents encouraging their kids to play? They should push them to become IRS officers in the government.”
