Archer Jyothi to approach court after Khel Ratna snub
New Delhi, December 20
On a day when the Sports Ministry released the list of the National Sports Awards winners, India’s premier compound archer V Jyothi Surekha announced that she will approach the court for being snubbed for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
Jyothi and her father Surendra Kumar had been trying to get in touch with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and other officials ever since her name did not feature in the list of recommended athletes for the country’s highest sporting honour.
In fact, Jyothi wrote a letter to the Minister on December 14, urging him to reconsider as she had the highest points amongst the athletes. The 27-year-old from Andhra Pradesh won three gold medals — in individual, women’s team and mixed team events — in compound archery at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Multiple sources have confirmed that she indeed had the highest points, but her name was dropped as the compound event was not an Olympics discipline. The committee also felt that the duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy winning the Thomas Cup gold and a World Championships bronze medal was more credible.
Kumar today told The Tribune that they will file a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court very soon. “This is the biggest tragedy in Indian sport. How can someone who has the highest points as per the criteria, someone who has won medals in three back-to-back Asian Games and World Championships fail to get the Khel Ratna?” Kumar said.
“I have consulted the lawyer and sent him the relevant papers. My understanding is that we will file latest by Friday because we feel that the committee took a very wrong decision. We were only waiting for the final list to come out,” he added.
Kumar also informed that Jyothi had tried to get in touch with the Ministry and the Sports Authority of India a number of times but she did not get any response from the officials.
In her letter to Thakur, Jyothi said she was “disheartened” by the snub. “Despite representing Indian Team for the last 13 years and winning 3 Gold medals in the 19th Asian Games, 2022 and winning 8 medals in the World Championships so far, and having a highest of 148 points as per the given criteria, I am very disheartened to see that my name has not been recommended by the committee for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award,” Jyothi said in her letter.
“I would also like to mention that I am not against any athlete or the committee members but I would like to know the reasons or facts behind, as I am having the eligibility as per the criteria given in the Notifications,” she added.
Chirag-Satwik get Khel Ratna
Badminton stars Satwiksairaj and Shetty will be awarded the Khel Ratna after the Ministry released the official list today.
Indian pacer Mohammad Shami, archers Pravin Ojas Deotale and Aditi Gopichand, long jumper M Sreeshankar, chess Grandmaster R Vaishali, and shooters Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar and Esha Singh are a few of the prominent names that figure in the list of Arjuna Award winners.
