Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award is India’s highest sports award. Manu Bhaker became India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the 2024 Olympics.
This week, Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker’s name was not included on the list of athletes nominated for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, sparking controversy. Reacting to the stir, Baker said, “I think I deserve it; let the country decide.”
The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sports award. In August, Bhaker became independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events.
Despite her historic achievement, her family was shocked when her name was purportedly omitted from the national honours.
Manu’s father, Ram Kishan, told the Times of India that Manu was “disheartened.” “She told me ‘I shouldn’t have gone to the Olympics and won medals for the country. I shouldn’t have become a sportsperson’,” Manu’s father told the paper.
Despite her historic achievement, her family was shocked when her name was purportedly omitted from the national honours.
Manu’s father, Ram Kishan, told the Times of India that Manu was “disheartened.” “She told me, ‘I shouldn’t have gone to the Olympics and won medals for the country. I shouldn’t have become a sportsperson’,” Manu’s father told the paper.
“If we are to make India a sporting hub, then Olympic medalists and Olympians in general, should be respected and encouraged rather than discouraged with decisions like these,” he added.
The controversy in detail
According to the report, the sports ministry said that the 22-year-old shooter did not apply Khel Ratna, but her family told the otherwise. Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy, said the youngster had followed the due process.
“She had been continuously applying for all awards, say, Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan, for the last two to three years, and I have proof. I am confident she would have applied this time too, but I can’t show anything as I am at sea right now,” Ram Kishan told PTI.
“But even if she hasn’t, the committee should consider her looking at her achievements,” he asserted.
Bhaker’s father said there is no worth in playing Olympic sports in India because Manu has been ignored for the Khel Ratna award despite winning two medals in the Olympics. “There is no point in playing and winning rewards for your country and, in turn, begging for recognition,” he added.
Meanwhile, a top sports ministry source told the news agency PTI that the names have yet to be finalised. She is likely to be present when the list is unveiled in a week.
“There is no final list of nominees at this point. Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya will decide on the recommendations in a day or two, and her name, in all likelihood, will be on the final list,” a ministry source said.
The award selection committee is a 12-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Ramasubramam. It includes former athletes, such as women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal.
