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COVER STORY: ARJUNA AWARD
INTERVIEW: MILKHA SINGH
"I'M IN THE SAME LIST AS DOPERS AND SIFARISHIS"
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NO THANKS: Milkha has sent officials into a tizzy
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THE
ARJUNA AWARD BRINGS:
# Rs 1.5 lakh cash prize
Free AC II Class train travel
# Out of turn allotment of government flat |
Milkha Singh has kicked up a row by refusing
the Arjuna Award and by his outburst against sports mandarins. He explains
to Special Correspondent Ramesh Vinayak why receiving the award is not
an honour.
Q. Why did you reject the Arjuna Award?
A. Because
this prestigious award has been reduced to a tamasha. The Sports Ministry
has placed a one-time best athlete on the same pedestal as those whose
only claim to fame is national championships in lesser known sports. Giving
me the award 40 years after the Padma Shri is like bestowing a matriculation
certificate after a postgraduate degree.
Q. Whom do you blame for this?
A. Umaji
is not at fault. My grudge is against the ministry babus and the Indian
Olympic Association officials who are in the selection committee. They
should have informed her about my achievements.
Q. But the sports minister says the selection
was on merit and that it was meant to lift sport standards?
A. That's
not correct. I am in the same list in which dopers and sifarishis (recommended
people) figure. This is adding insult to injury. What are the achievements
of the SAI deputy director for them to have been equated with mine. The
half-marathon is not even a recognised sport. You can honour national
champions but why degrade the Arjuna Award? There are thousands of national
champions. Would you give the award to everyone? This is ridiculous. So
many Asian Games gold medal winners didn't get it.
Q. Is scrapping the Arjuna Award and removing
perks an answer?
A. No.
The answer is laying down clear guidelines and following them rigorously.
Why not have prominent sportsperson on the selection panel? Besides, most
sportspersons are poor so the monetary benefits are needed.
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