NEW DELHI: Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker’s name missing from the recommendation list of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award has created a furore. Caught on the back-foot, the sports ministry is now considering nominating her name for the country’s highest sporting honour by using its executive powers vested in the provisions of the National Sports Day awards scheme, TOI has learnt.
Manu created history at the Paris Games 2024 after clinching back-to-back medals (bronze) in the women’s individual 10m air pistol and in the mixed team event partnering Sarabjot Singh, cementing her place as one of the greatest Indian athletes in Olympic sports. The 22-year-old from Haryana’s Jhajjar district became the first Indian to achieve such a feat at a single Olympic edition since India attained independence.
Her omission from the list of athletes recommended for the Khel Ratna – as highlighted by TOI in its exclusive report on Monday – thus came as a huge surprise. The 12-member selection committee failed to take cognizance of her incredible achievements during the awards cycle period, where she won several medals at major multisport and international events.
The committee recommended ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, who captained the Indian men’s hockey team to a bronze medal-finish in Paris, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar, who won gold in the men’s high jump T64 class with an Asian record at the Paris Paralympics, for the Khel Ratna.
The authorities forgot that in the past, Olympic medallists were awarded the Khel Ratna upon their return to the country right after their successful campaign at the Summer Games. In 2021, all the medallists from the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games – who had not yet been awarded the Khel Ratna – were awarded with the honour by the govt. Strangely, the same gesture or rule wasn’t applied in the case of a deserving athlete as Manu.
While the officials in the ministry claimed that the shooter didn’t apply for the award, Manu’s father Ram Bhaker maintained that she had indeed sent in her application. The point is, even if Manu had not applied for the award, why did the selection panel fail to take cognizance of her stupendous achievements as a shooter over the years?
It’s been learnt that the ministry might invoke Articles 5.1 and 5.2 of the ‘Scheme for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’ which state: “Sportspersons eligible in accordance with award guidelines will be permitted to self-apply without the recommendation of the authorities/persons. Notwithstanding the above, the government reserves the right to nominate up to two nominations in deserving cases.”
According to sources, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya is expected to go through the names of Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyanchand nominees and give his approval to the list on Wednesday. Sources said the minister, who has been travelling, has already been informed about the controversy surrounding Manu’s exclusion from the list.