Broken Arrow

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Once upon a time the Arjuna Award was associated with the who8217;s who of Indian sport. Today, announcement of the award is increasingly accompanied by hows and whys.

Like the person for whom it is named, the award has become more colourful than anyone would have imagined. For a nation with an underachieving sporting record and a handful of real heroes, the annual list of winners is less a roll of honour than the harbinger of a stream of unseemly protests.

The cycle is inevitable: Committee formed, lobbying begun, list finalised, questions raised, noisy press meets staged, losers disgruntled, allegations hurled, change demanded, promises made, peace bought. Till the next year, an uneasy silence. Deciding winners in a nation of sporting mediocrity isn8217;t easy but does it have to be this hard?

Every mistake the committee can commit, it commits. Since its institution in 1961 by an idealistic, forward-looking government, the Arjuna Award has been tied up in obsolete procedural shortcomings and a rigid formula-based framework.

A fixed number of winners, a limit of two winners per sport and, in typical government fashion, a timeline out of sync with everyone else. Since the rulebook says that the awards are for last year8217;s performance if the rule had to be followed, did no one think of having it in January?, we now have the quirky situation of Olympic silver medalist Major Rajyavardhan Rathore receiving the Arjuna while finalist Anju Bobby George gets the Khel Ratna.

Though this is a minor glitch when one walks down the Arjuna Hall of Fame. Wrestler Khashaba Jadhav, who won India8217;s first individual Olympic medal at Helsinki in 1952, got the Arjuna in 2001 8212; 17 years after his death. Milkha Singh rejected the award the same year since he was clubbed with Rachna Govil, a SAI hostel warden with little more than a passing interest in running.

Olympic gold medal winning hockey captain Surjit Singh was named in the Arjuna list 17 years after his moment of glory and more than a decade after he had died. Surjit8217;s teammate Kaushik8217;s wait: 19 years and he received the Arjuna the same year he was up for the Dronacharya!

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To be fair, shortlisting the 15 each year is a task almost as difficult as qualifying for the award. Besides the pull and push of heavyweight recommendation letters and high-level phone calls, the committee members have to make value judgements on subjective issues. Is a Commonwealth basketball gold medal better than a Asian Games volleyball bronze? Is a junior world champion a 8216;8216;world champion8217;8217; as defined by the award8217;s rules? Comparing apples and oranges can leave you with the odd lemon.

That makes the Arjuna Award, like the hero of the Mahabharata, less than perfect.

Sandeep Dwivedi

Sandeep Dwivedi is the Sports Editor at The Indian Express. He is one of India's most prominent sports journalists, known for his deep analytical insights and storytelling that often goes beyond scores and statistics to explore the human and cultural side of sports. Professional Profile Role: As the Sports Editor, he leads the sports coverage for the newspaper and the website. Weekly Column: He writes "The Sports Column," a weekly feature where he provides sharp, narrative-driven perspectives on the biggest sporting news of the week. Podcast: He is a frequent contributor to the "Express Sports" podcast (Game Time), where he discusses evolving trends in cricket and other international sports. Areas of Expertise While Dwivedi covers the entire sporting spectrum, his work is particularly noted in the following areas: Cricket: He provides extensive coverage of the Indian National Team and the IPL. He frequently analyzes the leadership styles of figures like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Gautam Gambhir. He is known for tracking the transition phases of Indian cricket and the evolution of specific players like Kuldeep Yadav and Rishabh Pant. Athletics & Olympic Sports: He has written extensively on Neeraj Chopra’s rise in javelin, the nuances of Indian shooting, and tennis legends like Sania Mirza and Leander Paes. Human Interest Stories: A hallmark of his writing is his focus on the struggles and backgrounds of athletes, such as the sacrifices made by Shafali Verma’s father or the "silent battles" of veteran players like Cheteshwar Pujara. Notable Recent Work & Themes Leadership and Dynamics: Recently, he has written about the dynamic between Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, arguing that personal friendship is not a prerequisite for team success. Sports & Culture: His articles often intersect with global culture, such as his deep dive into the 100-year legacy of the Harlem Globetrotters and their role as American soft power during the Cold War. The "Grey Areas" of Sport: He often addresses sensitive topics like the mental health of cricketers post-retirement, the "outrage industry" in sports broadcasting, and the impact of fan-wars on the game. Tenure and Experience Dwivedi has been with The Indian Express for over three decades. This experience allows him to provide historical context to modern sporting events, often comparing current crises or triumphs to those of previous generations. You can follow his latest work and columns on his official Indian Express Author Profile. ... Read More