Arjuna off target again

Ahluwalia said that he and his committee members simply went by the information provided to them by the ministry. When reminded that Singh had been sacked because he was 8216;unfit8217; for the job, it was argued that the committee went by the recommendation of the IHF.

Similarly, they could not explain away the selection of judoka Shah, wrestler Tomar and kabaddi player Kumar, though the interpretation went: judo is a popular game played in Asia and Akram has a few medals, including one at the Commonwealth Games, Tomar had won medals in 8216;8216;international meets8217;8217; and Sanjeev had led the kabaddi team to a gold at Busan.

What was left unsaid was that things hardly change, whether you have people of eminence on the committee or otherwise.

THE LIST

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Anju Bobby George

Dronacharya: Bobby George athletics, Anoop Kumar boxing, Rajinder Singh hockey, Sukhchain Cheema wrestling

Arjuna: Soma Biswas and Madhuri Saxena athletics, Pankaj Advani billiards and snooker, M C Mary Kom boxing, Koneru Humpy chess, Rajesh Pattu equestrian, Devesh Chauhan and Suraj Lata Devi hockey, Akram Shah judo, Sanjeev Kumar kabaddi, R V S Rathore shooting, Harbhajan Singh and Mithali Raj cricket, Shokinder Tomar wrestling, M S Rao Paralympic Games.

Dhyan Chand: Labh Singh athletics, Hardyal Singh hockey and M D Parasuram physically handicapped. Abul Kalam Trophy: Guru Nanak Dev University.