Ministry writes to PMO, wants Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand
NEW DELHI: The Sports Ministry has written to the Prime Minister’s Office, requesting Bharat Ratna for the late Dhyan Chand in what can considered be its latest push to bestow the hockey legend with India’s highest civilian honour.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel confirmed that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Yes, we have written to the Prime Minister about Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand. Conferring the honour posthumously will be a fitting tribute to his exceptional service to the country,” said Goel.
It is not the first time that the Ministry has sought Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand, who helped India win three gold medals at the Olympics (1928, 1932, and 1936).
During the UPA rule in 2013, the Sports Ministry had chosen the hockey wizard for the honour over cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar.
However in the same year, it was eventually announced that Tendulkar will be the first sportsperson to receive the award, hours after he ended his illustrious international career.
Asked whether Dhyan Chand, who passed away in 1979, should have got Bharat Ratna before Tendulkar, Goel said: “I would not want to get into this and it is not fair to comment about sportspersons of such legendary stature.
“You can’t measure Dhyan Chand’s achievements with any award. He is beyond that.
“As I said, Prime Minister will take the final call on this subject. He wants India to emerge as a sporting power and that is why he has been giving a lot of emphasis to sports. “We want him to consider this. We feel Bharat Ratna to Dhyan Chand will not only give a huge boost to Indian hockey but also to other sports,” said Goel.
The Ministry decided to write to the Prime Minister earlier this week. PARIS: Defending French Open champion Novak Djokovic has been accused of tanking the last set of his quarter-final against Dominic Thiem by tennis great John Mcenroe. Commenting on the match, Mcenroe said he was absolutely baffled by what he saw and was not impressed at all by Djokovic’s performance.
Tanking is the tennis term when players deliberately choose not to focus energy or attention on a specific set.
“It looks right now as if Djokovic doesn’t want to be on the court. This is tank city. I’m very surprised — especially with the way how it ended. That last set was really strange,” Mcenroe said. Djokovic squandered two set points in the opening set. The 23-year-old Thiem won 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0. His error-strewn display shocked Greg Rusedski too, who was appearing in the Eurosport studio. He said: “When have you seen Djokovic lose 0-6 in a Grand Slam quarter-final? There are question marks for me over where’s Novak — especially after that performance.”
Djokovic has not been at his best for a while now, winning just two titles in the last 12 months, and Wednesday’s loss against Thiem means that the Serb will next week crash out of the top two of men’s tennis rankings for the first time in the last five-and-half years.