Manu Bhaker To Father After Khel Ratna Snub: 'I Shouldn't Have Gone To Olympics'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) No mention of Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker's name on the list of sportspersons nominated for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award sparked controversy this week. Reacting to the stir, Bhaker said, "I think I deserve it, let the country decide."

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, the purported omission of her name from the national honours evoked shock with her family.

Manu's father Ram Kishan told the Times of India that Manu was "disheartened" over the matter. "She told me 'I shouldn't have gone to the Olympics and won medals for the country. In fact, I shouldn't have become a sportsperson'," Manu's father told the paper.

He reportedly said he regretted putting her in the sport of shooting . " I should have instead made her a cricketer. Then, all the awards and accolades would have come her way. She won two Olympic medals in a single edition; no one has ever done that. What else do you expect my child to do for the country? The government must recognise her efforts," he was quoted as saying.

Bhaker's father Ram Kishan exclusively told Telecom Asia that he suspects that "all is not well with the committee which decides the national sports awards.

He said, "Despite such a fantastic performance if Manu is not recommended for Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, then I am forced to believe that all is not well in the committee, or some orders were being followed."

"If we are to make India a sporting hub, then Olympic medalists, and Olympians in general, should be given respect and encouraged rather than discourage them with decisions like these," he added.

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 Merchant Navy, said the youngster had followed the due process

"She had been applying for all awards, say Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan for the last two-three years continuously and I have proof of that. This time too, I am confident she would have applied 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 that there is no worth of playing Olympic sports in India because despite winning two medals in an Olympics, Manu has been ignored for the Khel Ratna award. "There is no point in playing and winning rewards for your country and in turn beg for recognition," he added.

Meanwhile, a top sports ministry source told news agency PTI that the names are yet to be finalised and she is likely to be there when the list is unveiled in a week's time.

"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 there in 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 like women's hockey captain Rani Rampal among others.

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