After rejecting two Drona recommendations, Ministry says it made a mistake

New Delhi, August 29
Has the Sports Ministry erred by withholding the Dronacharya Award recommendations of coaches Shimoga Satyanarayana and Heera Nand Kataria?
Well, if senior Ministry officials are to be believed, then there has been an oversight on the part of the Ministry and the Pullela Gopichand-led Dronacharya Award selection committee.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel, after receiving anonymous complaints about para-sports coach Satyanarayana and kabaddi coach Kataria, told the Ministry officials to strike off their names from the list of awardees. However, the Minister didn’t feel the need to dig deep into the details and consider the merits of those complaints.
Satyanarayana’s case
The complaint about Satyanarayan was that he’s facing legal proceedings in a criminal defamation case at the Saket Court in Delhi. Also, it was reported that he had been holding two different posts in the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
However, Satyanarayana had resigned much earlier from AFI, which made him eligible for the award. He had later submitted an affidavit before the Ministry, informing about his resignation. Previously, Satyanarayana had held the position of secretary in PCI.
About the defamation case, the coach has contested that it was filed with a malicious intent by his rivals in PCI and that, according to the law of the land, he has not been convicted for the same. The Ministry understands that since Satyanarayana hasn’t been charge-sheeted, it could find itself on sticky legal ground if he decides to move the Delhi High Court.
It’s been learnt that a particular section in PCI had raised objections about his recommendation for the award, which probably influenced Goel’s decision.
For the record, Satyanarayana has coached 2016 Rio Paralympics gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu and bronze winner Varun Bhati.
Kataria’s issue
In the case of Kataria, it’s been reported that he’s holding the position of joint secretary in the Wushu Association of India (WAI), but the recommendation of his name was made on the basis of him coaching kabaddi players.
However, what Goel didn’t check was the fact that national-level kabaddi player Sumitra Sharma had submitted an affidavit before the Ministry that Kataria coached him until 2015. Sharma was a member of the Incheon Asian Games gold medal winning team. Based on her affidavit, Kataria was recommended for the award.
Also, his role in the wushu association didn’t directly clash with him personally coaching the kabaddi players.
Ministry realising its mistake
However, the Ministry officials have now decided to again take up their cases with Goel. This was after the two aggrieved coaches made personal presentation to the officials and provided them with documentary evidences of their deserving credentials.
The officials have assured the coaches of considering their recommendations favourably. It’s still to be seen whether Goel would sign on their names, but this could possibly become a major point of argument between the Minister and senior officials.
The officials already aren’t pleased with the way Goel tried to add tennis player Rohan Bopanna and women’s cricket team’s captain Mithali Raj’s name in the Arjuna Award list at the last minute.
The officials also don’t want another court-room drama, with weightlifter Sanjita Chanu and basketball player P Anitha moving the Delhi High Court over the Arjuna snub.
No decision on Chanu
The Court of Justice Vibhu Bakhru has given the Ministry 14 days to file its response in Chanu’s case. The court had considered staying the awards ceremony, but decided against it. The Ministry has assured the court of favourably considering Chanu’s name, since she had accumulated more points than many other recommended athletes.

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