Indian hockey midfielder Bimal Lakra has turned down an award from the government of his native state Jharkhand.
“It was initially announced that I would get Rs two lakh but then the prize money was reduced to Rs 1.5 lakh. That apart, some archers are being given Rs 2.5 lakh, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni is being given Rs 5 lakh and a car. Why this discrimination?” Lakra, who is currently in the Indian men’s hockey camp, questioned. “I told them that I do not want the award.”
“More than the cash prize, no one from the Jharkhand state association has bothered to speak to me or congratulate me after I returned home from India’s Asia Cup win,” the Indian Airlines player added.
A state which boasts of a rich tradition of producing hockey players seems unable to give its heroes what they deserve.