No new addition to Arjuna list, committee suggests changes

SAI director general Jiji Thomson said they discussed seven athletes in review meeting but it was unanimously agreed that no changes were needed.

The Kapil Dev-led committee has decided not to make any changes in the original list of 15 athletes chosen for the Arjuna award while also suggesting recommendations to change the present system of rating sportspersons for the awards.

The decision came after sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal asked the committee to review the awards list after a number of sportspersons complained about the selection process. “We discussed some of the reports that we got from the media about a certain misunderstanding and some complaints from our federations. We went through all the details once again and we have decided to stick to the same names,” Dev said after an hour-long meeting on Tuesday.

On being asked specifically about Manoj Kumar, whose application was initially rejected due to a case of mistaken identity, Dev said: “We still thought Jai Bhagwan deserved more. I hope next year he gets it.”

SAI director general Jiji Thomson said they discussed seven athletes in the review meeting but it was unanimously agreed that no changes were needed.

“It was an hour-long meeting and we all agreed that the 15 names shortlisted earlier were deserving for the honour. Having said that, there will always be a case when a deserving candidate misses out and his or her turn comes later,” Thomson said.

Interestingly, Dev saved his best for the last. He retorted to Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra’s allegations of favouritism with a simple rebuttal. “Who is Batra? Has he represented India? Has he played for India”?

“Awards are not about one state. Tomorrow if sportsperson from his state gets 8 awards, will he question that? If Kerala sportspeople are getting more awards, it simply means they are doing better,” Dev stressed.