Table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal to get Khel Ratna award

Tribune News Service

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, November 4

Table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal has been recommended for this year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. Significantly, the awards committee headed by Justice (retd) AM Khanwilkar has restored the prestige of the country’s highest sporting award by recommending only one name. The committee had recommended five names in 2020 and 11 last year.

Sharath will be the second table tennis player after Manika Batra to get this honour. Sharath has won seven medals at the Commonwealth Games. He also won a bronze medal in the mixed team event with Batra at the 2018 Asian Games.

What is interesting in this year’s Arjuna Award recommendation list is the inclusion of two athletes — Seema Punia (discus throw) and Amit Panghal (boxing) — who had been served with a reprimand for doping violations early in their careers.

This is the second year in a row when an athlete who was caught in the dope net has been recommended for the Arjuna Award. Last year, para athlete Sharad Kumar, who had served a two-year suspension in 2012, was recommended for the award. Sharad won the bronze medal in the men’s T-63 high jump at the Tokyo Paralympics. In all, 25 athletes were recommended for the Arjuna Award.

India captain Rohit Sharma’s coach Dinesh Lad has been recommended for this year’s Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category. In the regular category, archery coach Jiwanjot Singh Teja, boxing coach Mohammad Ali Qamar, rifle coach Suma Shirur (para shooting) and wrestler Bajrang Punia’s coach Sujit Mann have been recommended for the award.

Arjuna Award recommendations

Seema Punia (athletics), Eldhose Paul (athletics), Avinash Sable (athletics), Lakshya Sen (badminton), HS Prannoy (badminton), Amit Panghal (boxing), Nikhat Zareen (boxing), Bhakti Kulkarni (chess), R Praggnanandha (chess), Deep Grace Ekka (hockey), Shushila Devi (judo), Sakshi Kumari (kabaddi), Nayan Moni Saikia (lawn bowls), Sagar Ovhalkar (mallakhamb), Elavenil Valarivan (shooting), Om Prakash Mitharval (shooting), Sreeja Akula (table tennis), Vikas Thakur (weightlifting), Anshu Malik (wrestling), Sarita Mor (wrestling), Parveen (wushu), Manashi Joshi (para badminton), Tarun Dhillon (para badminton), Swapnil Patil (para swimming), Jerlin Anika J (deaf badminton)

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