New Delhi: A day after it announced a trimmed-down list of national sports awardees, the sports ministry backed its decision and said awards can’t be doled out on reputation alone.
“Usually, the names forwarded by the selection panel are final, but this time we decided to cut the flab. Arjuna awards have to be earned, they can’t be given on reputation.”
“We agree it’s not the convention,” a senior ministry official said.
It drew about 30 lakh participants and the second installment 50 lakh. Gymnast Pranati Nayak, kho kho player Nirmala Bhati, polo player Padmanabh Singh, shooter Mehuli Ghosh, table tennis player Sutirtha Mukherjee, wrestler Sonam Malik and yogasana athlete Aarti Pal were those excluded after re-evaluation. “We took over the preparation for World Championships from the very beginning and worked towards delivering a world-class tournament. What happened during the India Open was unfortunate, and there were surely lapses on our part.
But we left no stone unturned this time,” the ministry official said. “This time, we aim to take the number to 1 crore,” the ministry said.
