Jhajharia, Sardar for Ratna

New Delhi, August 4
For para-athlete Devendra Jhajharia and former hockey captain Sardar Singh, the recommendation of their names for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to achieve sporting excellence. The announcement is also the realisation of their long-standing wish to be bestowed with the country’s highest sporting honour.
Javelin thrower Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two Paralympics gold medals, has shown the path to other meritorious para-athletes to aspire for the Khel Ratna glory. Jhajharia getting the Khel Ratna on August 29 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan would be the first time a paralympian would receive this honour.
Earlier, an Olympics medallist was eligible for direct qualification for the Khel Ratna, but no such policy was in place for the paralympians. Jhajharia made the sports administrators change the policy with his hard-to-ignore sporting achievements.
Unanimous choice
The 12-member awards selection committee, headed by Justice (Retd) CK Thakkar, was unanimous in its decision to award the Khel Ratna to the 36-year-old from Rajasthan for winning the gold medal (men’s F46 javelin throw) at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. This was Jhajharia’s second gold after the podium finish at the 2004 Athens Games. He had also won the gold at the 2013 World Championships, which was counted in the award’s four-year cycle for calculating points. Jhajharia had received the Arjuna Award in 2004 and Padma Shri in 2012.
Another Rio Paralympics gold medallist, Mariyappan Thangavelu (men’s T42 high jump), was recommended for the Arjuna Award along with bronze medallist Varun Bhati (men’s T42 high jump).
Rio Paralympics silver medallist in the women’s F53 shot put, Deepa Malik of Haryana, was not considered for the Khel Ratna since she had received the Padma Shri earlier this year only. Malik got the Arjuna Award in 2012.
Row over Sardar’s name
Sardar should consider himself second time lucky. Last year, when he had applied for the award, his application reached the Ministry late. This time, he made sure to forward his application well in time.
The 31-year-old Haryana midfielder had played a pivotal role in India winning the 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold and Glasgow CWG silver medal. Sardar also led the team to a bronze-medal finish in the 2015 Hockey World League. He is a recipient of Padma Shri in 2015.
Drama over Sardar’s name
The meeting witnessed high drama when Sardar’s name came up for discussion. Some members raised the issue of Sardar’s alleged involvement in a sexual harassment case, filed by an Indian-origin British hockey player. A few members suggested that if Sardar was convicted later, it would reflect on the decision to give him the award. These members were then informed that no chargesheet has yet been filed against Sardar in the case. Sardar’s name was then recommended for the award.
The meeting also saw discussion over the names of women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj and tennis player Rohan Bopanna. But their names were rejected as Mithali had not applied for the award and Bopanna’s was a late entry.