The Arjuna goes to…

To most of us, the Arjuna awards ceremony is another of those quaint events at Rashtrapati Bhavan that translate into 15 minutes of fame for those who rarely occupy top-of-the-mind space. To an Indian sportsperson, it is the ultimate recognition by peers and superiors of efforts that usually go unheralded. To Bobby Aloysius, competing with the world’s best high jumpers three weeks ago, being passed over three years in a row meant so much that she is seriously contemplating quitting the sport. In Arjuna awards season, controversy is rarely far away. Indeed, the awards reflects what is wrong with Indian sport: lack of transparency and accountability, lack of public interest which translates into lack of outrage when something goes wrong. And, eventually, a lack of will to change the system.

Yet the system must be changed if only because, given our cricket-obsessed society, it is one of the few public signs of recognition in Indian sport. Where should the change begin? For one, do away with the guideline that favours achievements at the international level over those at home. The essence of sport is to do one’s best in whatever capacity, whichever arena. It is also a put-down of India’s national sports system (as if a put-down was necessary). In cricket, for example, why should a prolific scorer in the Ranji Trophy not be up for the award simply because he hasn’t played for India? For another, show flexibility in thought and some tact. In naming Major R.S. Rathore for the Arjuna, the committee got it half right; he was technically eligible — but his Olympic silver places him in rather exalted company. So instead of giving him the Arjuna this year, they could have given him the Khel Ratna in the next.

The best international awards succeed because they are transparent. Not in their voting system, perhaps, but in making public who’s voting and who got how many votes. In most cases, the voters are either sports writers — England’s Footballer of the Year award — or coaches, as in the FIFA award, or the players themselves; all well-defined electoral bodies. These may not work in India but there is surely a way of restoring to the Arjuna the dignity it has been deprived of over the years. It may be too late to make Bobby Aloysius change her mind but it will give her peers a sporting chance.