Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker’s father Ram Kishan was gutted with the reports of the shooter being snubbed from the Khel Ratna list. A frustrated Ram Kishan hit out at the nomination process and said that maybe he should have made his daughter a cricketer, instead of a shooter, which would have given her more recognition.
Speaking to the Times of India, Ram Kishan Bhaker said that he regretted putting Manu in the sport of shooting. He hit out at the government and asked what more could have her daughter done to deserve recognition for her efforts.
“I regret putting her in the sport of shooting. I should have instead made her a cricketer. Then, all the awards and accolades would have come her way. She won two Olympic medals in a single edition, no one has ever done that. What else do you expect my child to do for the country? The government must recognise her efforts,” Manu Bhaker’s father said in an interview.
Manu Bhaker Disheartened: Father
On December 23, sources confirmed to India Today that Paris Olympics medallist Manu Bhaker’s name has been excluded from the list of nominees for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sporting honour. A 12-member National Sports Day committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice V Ramasubramam, did not recommend the shooter’s name for the prestigious award.
While the Sports Ministry reportedly claimed that Manu Bhaker did not apply for the award, Manu Bhaker’s father Ram Kishan said that they applied for the honour and did not hear back from the committee.
“Manu said she had applied on the portal. If that was the case, then the committee must have considered her name. Whatever the situation, the federation has approached the ministry and requested the officials to include her name,” the source said.
Ram Kishan said that Manu was disheartened after the reports and claimed that she regretted going to the Olympics and winning medals for India.
“I spoke to Manu, and she was disheartened by all this. She told me ‘I shouldn’t have gone to the Olympics and won medals for the country. In fact, I shouldn’t have become a sportsperson’,” Manu’s father told TOI.
Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and para-athlete Praveen Kumar were among the nominees for the Khel Ratna award.
Manu Bhaker won the Arjuna Award in 2020. Notably, Mohammed Shami was honoured with the Arjuna Award earlier this year despite the cricketer not applying for it. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) intervened and pushed for his case after which the National Sports Award committee took suo moto cognisance.
Manu Bhaker led India’s show at the Paris Olympics. The Asian nation won six medals, one short of the record mark from London 2012. Manu won two bronze medals — one in women’s 10m air pistol event and the other one along with Sarabjot Singh in the mixed 10m pistol event.
