New Delhi: Ignored for this year’s Khel Ratna award, Rio Paralympics silver-medallist Deepa Malik and Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar have requested the sports ministry to reconsider her case but the government is unlikely to accept their “appeal”.
The award selection panel has recommended javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia, the gold medal winner at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, and former hockey captain Sardar Singh for Khel Ratna.
In a letter, dated August 16, Khattar wrote, “I am of the considered opinion that prestigious Khel Ratna award should be conferred on Deepa Malik. I therefore request to you to kindly consider her name for Khel Ratna.”
Malik, the first Indian woman athlete to win a medal at the Paralympics, wrote an e-mail to sports minister Vijay Goel on August 7, making a similar appeal and also sought an appointment with him.
“I felt that there has been an oversight. Where’s the deficiency? Do I need to win one more medal in 2020 Games at the age of 50 to be given this award?” Malik asked and dismissed suggestions that she was “lobbying” for the award.
