JHAJHARIA, SARDAR SINGH RECOMMENDED FOR KHEL RATNA

NO RECOGNITION India women’s team captain led from the front in the recent ICC World Cup but does not find her name recommended for Khel Ratna

Two-time Paralympic gold-medallist Devendra Jhajharia on Thursday became the first Paralympian to be recommended for the country’s highest sporting honour — the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — along with former hockey captain Sardar Singh. The 36-year-old Jhajharia, who is the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals, was the first choice of the awards selection committee. The committee has picked 31-year-old midfielder Sardar as its second nominee for the top honour and has suggested that both Jhajharia and Sardar be considered for the award jointly. The committee also recommended 17 names, including those of Cheteshwar Pujara and Harmanpreet Kaur, for the Arjuna award.

MUMBAI: Devendra Jhajharia became the first Paralympian to be recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna on Thursday along with former hockey captain Sardar Singh. However, it was strange to find no member of the women’s cricket team, which reached the World Cup final recently, was on the list.

The most glaring miss perhaps was that of the team skipper Mithali Raj. Apart from becoming the only Indian captain to take the team to the World Cup final, that too twice, Raj also finished the tournament with 409 runs, one short of leading run-getter Tammy Beaumont. She also surpassed England great Charlotte Edwards, becoming the highest run-getter in women’s ODI cricket and becoming the first Indian to score 1000 runs in the World Cup.

Usually, the federation sends nominations but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ignored the call. The deadline was April 30. Despite BCCI’s snub, Raj has already proved her worth and her admirers, including former women cricketers, strongly believe she should be conferred the award.

“It’s surprising. In my opinion both Mithali and Jhulan (Goswami) deserve the Khel Ratna, simply because they are now the world-record holders,” said former India skipper, Shantha Rangaswamy. What they have achieved, words can’t describe it. They’ve done great service for the team. But I’m sure the central government can ignore the absence of recommendations and give them the award. They both richly deserve it.”

Rangaswamy was the first woman cricketer to receive a lifetime achievement award from the BCCI. She was also India women’s first Test captain and the first to lead them to a series victory. She was given the Arjuna award in 1976.

Sreerupa Bose, who has two ODI caps to her name, said the Indian captain should have been considered by BCCI. “Such consistency is not seen in many cricketers. She is one of those who has kept her consistency for years now. Also, she is the highest run-getter, which is no mean achievement. These are top qualities of a player to get recognised,” she said.

Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two Paralympic golds, was the first nomination of the selection committee but both names can be considered by the sports ministry. Sardar Singh has been one of India’s prolific midfielders and has been a vital cog in the side for the past decade.

Jitu Rai, who was given the award with shuttler PV Sindhu, wrestler Sakshi Malik and gymnast Dipa Karmakar, congratulated the duo stating: “It’s not that we play for awards. But it feels good to see our talent being recognised. It’s the job of the federation to at least send in names of players who’ve made the nation proud for such a long period.”