President bestows controversy-marred Arjuna awards

New DelhiMired in selection controversies and devoid of a Khel Ratna for the first time in 20 years the National Sports Awards were today presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here in a ceremony which was severely short on star powerLike the past editions selection controversies cast a shadow on the ceremony and matters came to a head when boxer Manoj Kumar dragged the Sports Ministry to court after being overlooked for the Arjuna award despite qualifying in the new points systemAdd to this the awards selection committee did not find any athlete worthy of the countrys highest sporting honour the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna this yearNone of the seven candidates whose names were forwarded to the committee got the 12member panels nod making it the first time since 1994 when no sportsperson was named for the top awardControversies aside the ceremony followed the longstanding traditions as awardees walked upto to receive their respective honours from the President amid resounding applause from the dignitaries present including Vice President M Hamid Ansari and Sports Minister Sarbananda SonowalA notable absentee from the ceremony today was cricketer R Ashwin The offspinner could not make it as he is currently on national duty in England in an ongoing ODI seriesThe others who were bestowed the honour were Akhilesh Varma archery Tintu Luka athletics H N Girisha paralympics V Diju badminton Geetu Ann Jose basketball Jai Bhagwan boxing Anirban Lahiri golf Mamta Pujari kabaddi Saji Thomas rowing Heena Sidhu shooting Anaka Alankamony squash Tom Joseph volleyball Renubala Chanu weightlifting and Sunil Rana wrestlingArjuna Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awardees received statuettes citations and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar were given trophiesThe awards selection panel headed by cricket legend Kapil Dev included the likes of Anju Bobby George and Kunjarani Devi two mediapersons and three government representatives including Sports Authority of India Director General Jiji Thomson Picking 2010 Commonwealth Games bronzemedallist Jai Bhagwan and ignoring the goldmedallist from the same event Manoj Kumar had led to a massive controversy ahead of the award 20yearold squash player Alankamonys inclusion in the list had also raised eyebrows Kumar with 32 points had maximum points amongst the boxers who applied for the honour and two more than Bhagwan Awards list Arjuna award Akhilesh Varma Archery Tintu Luka Athletics HN Girisha Paralympics V Diju Badminton Geetu Ann Jose Basketball Jai Bhagwan Boxing Ravichandran Ashwin Cricket Anirban Lahiri Golf Mamta Pujari Kabaddi Saji Thomas Rowing Heena Sidhu Shooting Anaka Alankamany Squash Tom Joseph Volleyball Renubala Chanu Weightlifting and Sunil Rana Wrestling Dronacharya award Mahabir Prasad Wrestling N Lingappa Athletics Lifetime G Manoharan Boxing Lifetime Gurcharan Singh Gogi Judo Lifetime Jose Jacob Rowing Lifetime Dhyan Chand award Gurmail Singh Hockey K P Thakkar Swimming Diving Zeeshan Ali Tennis Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 1 Employment of sports persons and sports welfare measures Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited ONGC 2 Community Sports identification and nurturing of budding young talent Jindal Steel Works JSW 3 Establishment and Management of sports academies of excellence Guru Hanuman Akhara Delhi 4 Other forms of sports activities not covered in the four categories mentioned in the schemes Child Link Foundation of India Magic Bus