New Delhi/ Mumbai: The sports ministry on Monday said that double Olympic medal-winning pistol shooter Manu Bhaker’s name was not considered for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award because she had not applied for the India’s highest sporting honour, even as her family raised questions about the need for an application by the athlete in a year when her achievements were historic.
The sports ministry, however, added that the final list for the Khel Ratna has not yet been finalised, leaving the door open for Bhaker to be considered for the accolade.
A 12-member awards committee stoked controversy after its list of recommendations for India’s highest sporting honour did not mention the double-medallist from the 2024 Paris Olympics. The recommendations for the Khel Ratna included Indian men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, who led the team to a bronze medal in Paris, and men’s high jump gold medallist (in the T64 class) at the Paralympics Praveen Kumar.
“This is not the final list, there is a process involved,” a sports ministry official told HT. “The recommendations have to go through the sports minister before the list of awardees is finalised,” the official added. People in the ministry aware of the development said the awards committee goes by the protocol of discussing those names who have applied for the National Sports Awards and Bhaker’s application was not there.
According to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports guidelines amended on October 24, 2024, “applications are being invited only online through a dedicated portal”. The guidelines further stated that eligible sportspersons “need to self-apply” through the online portal”.
“If she had applied, there is no reason for us not to consider her,” said a member of the awards committee who did not wish to be named.
Bhaker’s father, Ramkishan, meanwhile asserted that his daughter should not be required to apply for an award, especially after becoming the only athlete from Independent India to win two medals at the same edition of the Olympics.
The 22-year-old had won bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event before pairing up with Sarabjot Singh to win a second bronze in the mixed 10m air pistol event.
“I have been making sure that she applies for awards for the last four years, Khel Ratna and Padam Shri awards. Even this time, when she has won two Olympic medals, does she have to apply? The whole country knows what she has achieved,” Ramkishan told HT on Monday. “Why does she need to apply for the award? There are some 49 applications of Manu (for various awards) which are pending with the sports ministry. What about them?”
Bhaker’s coach Jaspal Rana claimed the shooter was “disheartened” after being overlooked for the Khel Ratna. He said the National Rifle Association of India, the governing body of the sport in the country, should have taken the lead in the award application.
“I don’t know whether she applied or not, but even if she didn’t, someone in the NRAI could’ve nudged her,” Rana told HT. “Manu had a very busy Olympic cycle and a few super busy months following her medals in Paris. Surely, there could have been a way to make sure her name reaches the committee.”
The NRAI, however, made it clear that the matter of a government award is strictly between an athlete and the government. Nonetheless, the federation has written to the ministry on Monday to consider Bhaker for the award.
“The federation had no role to play in her application,” NRAI president Kalikesh Singh Deo said. “The system is rightly designed to keep federations out of this process and ensure the athlete is in direct touch with the awards committee. We don’t even know if she applied or not, but if she did, I don’t think the committee had any reason to not consider her. If she didn’t apply, there’s nothing the committee could’ve done. Nobody deserves the award more than Manu. We’ve taken cognizance of media reports and written to the sports ministry today requesting them to take note of her performance at the Olympics and her overall stellar career.”
In the past, the awards committee had the right to make considerations even if there was no application from at athlete. It is how Mohammed Shami was given the Arjuna Award last year despite the fast bowler not applying.
Now, however, the awards committee member said, the government gave them a mandate to only consider athletes who had applied for the awards. In other words, Bhaker could not be selected by the committee if she had not sent in an application.
The Khel Ratna, India’s highest sports award, comes with a medal and a cash prize of ₹25 lakh.
Bhaker received the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting honour, in 2020.
