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- Published: December 24, 2024 19:35
New Delhi: Manu Bhaker created history in the Olympic Games by clinching two medals in the history of the Games is facing a rare situation where she finds her name not in the top 30 of the Khel Ratna Awards.
SHAME ALERT 🚨
Manu Bhaker has not been nominated for Khel Ratna despite winning double Olympic medals
Is this because she met LoP Rahul Gandhi & Deepender Hooda?
Really cheap politics by BJP 🤮pic.twitter.com/7BkbGMgEhh
— Ankit Mayank (@mr_mayank) December 23, 2024
Now, Bhaker’s coach Jaspal Rana has come in support of his student and admonished the Indian government for the audacity of the sports department to sideline Bhaker.
Manu Bhaker! pic.twitter.com/j0n98Gg5wB
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) December 23, 2024
In a recent video interview with the PTI, Rana remarked:
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…
🧐🔫 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀? In a surprising twist, Manu Bhaker, who made history with two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics 2024, has been excluded from the nominations for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. While the Sports… pic.twitter.com/9N5oj7hQ3T
— Sportwalk Media (@sportwalkmedia) December 24, 2024
“What else do you expect?…”: Bhaker’s father fumes at the Indian government
Meanwhile, Manu Bhaker’s father, Ram Kishan did not hold back his exasperation as he lashed out at the Indian government and remarked:
What else do you expect my child to do for the country? She has won two Olympic medals in a single edition. Yet, she is ignored. I regret putting her into shooting; perhaps she should have been a cricketer.
His remarks highlight a recurring sentiment among athletes and their families about the disparity in recognition between cricket and other sports in India. While cricket dominates the limelight, Olympic sports often struggle for acknowledgement, even when athletes achieve unprecedented feats.
