Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik on Friday came down heavily on the Sports Ministry for leaving her name out of the final list of Arjuna awardees. The Ministry decided against bestowing the Arjuna on Sakshi and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu as the two have already been conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. She has now written an open letter to PM Narendra Modi and Sports minister Kiren Rijiju asking what else needs to be done to qualify for the award.
“Manniye Pradhanmantri @narendramodi ji aur manniye khel mantri @KirenRijiju ji. Mujhe Khel Ratna se sammanit kiya gaya hai, mujhe is baat ka garv hai. Har khiladi ka sapna hota hai ki woh saare puraskaar apne naam kare. [Respected Prime Minister @narendramodi and respected Sports Minister @KirenRijiju. I have been honoured by the Khel Ratna and I am proud of it. Every sportsperson dreams of winning all the awards],” Sakshi wrote on Twitter.
“Khiladi iske liye apni jaan ki bazi lagata hai. Mera bhi sapna hai ki mere naam ke aage Arjuna puraskar vijeta lage. Main aisa aur konsa padak desh ke liye lekar aaun ki mujhe Arjuna puraskar se sammanit kiya jaaye. Ya is kushti jeevan me mujhe kabhi ye puraskar jeetne ka saubhagya hi nahi mile ga? [A sportsperson puts her life at risk for it. I also dream of seeing Arjuna award winner against my name. What more medal do I get for the country that I be honoured with the Arjuna award. Or in this wrestling life, I would never have the good luck of winning this award?]” Sakshi further stated.
?????? ???????????? @narendramodi ?? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? @KirenRijiju ?? ? pic.twitter.com/YF1hQuJfPi
— Sakshi Malik (@SakshiMalik) August 22, 2020
Speaking to WrestlingTV, Sakshi said she is disappointed with the government for ignoring her achievements. “I always wanted to be called as Arjuna awardee Sakshi Malik. The athletes do everything to win such accolades. He or she wants to win all the awards. That’s what motivates us.
“I don’t know what I should do to win the Arjuna award. I am happy to be conferred with the Khel Ratna award in 2016. And I respect it too. But I always wanted Arjuna. That was my dream,” a fuming Sakshi said.