Manu Bhaker's coach Jaspal Rana questions Sports Ministry, NRAI for Khel Ratna snub

New Delhi: Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker's coach Jaspal Rana on Tuesday castigated the Sports Ministry, Sports Authority of India and the National Rifle Association of India, holding them responsible for "ignoring" his ward's credentials for the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award.

The champion shooter's omission has sparked a controversy even though ministry sources have asserted that the names are yet to be finalised and her name will be there when the final list is released in a week's time.

In August, Bhaker became independent India's first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events.

"I will hold all of them responsible. How can anyone even say Manu did not apply? She made history by becoming the first Indian to win two Olympic medals in the same Olympics. Her name should have been there automatically. Don't the people at the helm know who Manu Bhaker is and what are her credentials? This humiliation might just affect her progress," Rana, who was the personal coach of Manu when she won the medals at the Paris Games, told PTI.

"I can say that a wrong precedent is being set. Things like this can destroy an athlete's confidence." Reports of her omission from the national honours evoked shock with her family insisting that application was duly submitted.

"If this can shock the sports fraternity, if you are speaking to me regarding this, if people are writing about this, then how come the committee that decides the names fail to understand that she deserves the honour," Rana asked.

"What is their job otherwise. Isn't it to go through the performance of the athletes over the last cycle and then arrive at a conclusion and recommend the names. According to me this is not a mistake and this is not an oversight," Rana said.

The award selection committee is a 12-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Ramasubramam. It includes former athletes like women's hockey captain Rani Rampal among others.

The ministry norms allow athletes to self-nominate instead of relying on federations and other institutions for it. The selection committee is, however, allowed to consider names which may not be among the applicants.

While the ministry claimed that Bhaker did not apply for the award, her father Ram Kishan Bhaker, a chief engineer in Merchant Navy, said the youngster had followed the due process.

Rana added, "Even if the athlete was not able to apply for the award for some reasons, what is stopping the committee from recommending names. Hasn't she done enough to deserve an award." "Anyway, it is not the first time. It has happened with me too. I have never received the Khel Ratna award," said the shooter who won three gold medals and equalled the world record in 25m centre fire pistol at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

"It's really appalling. Why should a top sportsperson apply or request for an award? Awards should come naturally and automatically. How can it be ignored? There has to be some system in place," Rana observed.

"Does every athlete know how to apply? Does it make sense that only an athlete can apply? Why not the federation, Sports Authority of India (or the) ministry," the coach asked.

A ministry source had earlier told PTI that Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will decide on the recommendations of the 12-member award selection committee and, in all likelihood, Manu's name will be there in the final list.

"There is no final list of nominees at this point. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will decide on the recommendations in a day or two and her name, in all likelihood, will be there in the final list," the source said.

The legendary Rana returned as Bhaker's coach exactly one year before the Paris Olympics, and was by her side as she went on to create history in the French capital.

Under Rana's guidance, Bhaker enjoyed a fruitful period between 2018 and 2021, during which she won multiple ISSF World Cup medals and became a Commonwealth Games champion at Gold Coast 2018.

However, the two parted ways in 2021 ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in which Bhaker would go on to endure a disastrous outing while suffering a pistol malfunction.