Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has questioned the selection system for the list of sportspersons who receive the Government awards every year after her name did not feature in the list, which was released on Saturday. Phogat, who won bronze at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, did not feature in the list of eight sportspersons who were awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. In the year 2019, Phogat won two bronze medals (Asian and World Wrestling Championships) and two gold in Yasar Dogu International and Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw.
In the beginning of this year, Phogat won gold in the Rome Ranking Series event and is one of the Indian wrestlers to have qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Based on her achievements, Phogat felt left out when not named for Government awards and took to Twitter to question the system.
#Padmashree pic.twitter.com/lAOCjin2tl
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) January 26, 2020
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“Every year our Government awards several sportspersons. These awards serve as great encouragement for sports and for athletes to continue chasing excellence. “But it’s also seen that numerous times these awards don’t honour current achievements or instances of sporting success in the recent past. It’s almost like the deserving get left out each time. This has been a pattern and the 2020 awards list is no different.
“Who decides who shall be awarded? Are there current or former athletes in the jury? How does it even work?
“At (sic) the end, it all just seems slightly unfair.!!!! #Padmashree” Phogat tweeted.
Here is the list of awardees for this year:
Padma Vibhushan – MC Mary Kom (boxing)
Padma Bhushan – PV Sindhu (badminton)
Padma Shri – Zaheer Khan (cricket), Oinam Bembem Devi (football), MP Ganesh (Hockey), Jitu Rai (shooting), Tarundeep Rai (archery), Rani Rampal (hockey)
