Manu Bhaker, India's double bronze medalist from the Olympics hosted in Paris, seems to have been ignored for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

Ironically, although a piece of equipment failed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Bhaker is back with a bang. She has taken a double bronze medal in shooting events of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

According to sports ministry officials, she didn’t apply for the Khel Ratna award. Her family, however, claims that the 22-year-old youngster applied for the prestigious award. Putting aside a faulty pistol in Tokyo, Bhaker showed incredible resilience and focus towards her success in Paris.

The first-ever Indian female shooter to clinch an Olympic medal secured bronze in the women's 10-meter air-pistol event-the follow-up to her bronze win with teammate Sarabjot Singh in the mixed 10-meter air-pistol team event.

Why Manu Bhaker Missed Out on Khel Ratna?

Credits: Twitter

She became the first Indian athlete to achieve two medals in one Olympic Games after independence. And missed narrowly a third medal at the women’s 25-meter pistol event. There she ranked fourth.

The Khel Ratna Award has been nominated by the 12-member selection committee led by retired Supreme Court Justice V. Ramasubramanian. It was for the captain of Indian men’s hockey, Harmanpreet Singh, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar. The hockey team received a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics under the captaincy of Harmanpreet. He has been awarded the FIH Player of the Year title three times. With India’s team including gold at the 2022 Asian Games and silver at the Commonwealth Games of 2022, Harmanpreet has made history.

Praveen Kumar has won gold in the high jump event in para athletics at the Paris Paralympics after jumping a distance of 2.08 meters. Praveen is just 21 years old. But his name is already etched in history. He had earlier won the silver medal and also made an Asian record at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics by jumping a height of 2.07 meters.

Mohammed Shami received the Arjuna Award last year without applying for it. The award celebrated the cricketer for his achievements in the sport.

Even if Bhaker did not apply in writing, the selection committee could still reward her with a Khel Ratna for her stellar performances at the Paris Olympics. Recently, Bhaker started a buzz on social media by asking fans whether her performance justified the Khel Ratna Award. Leaving them to ponder over her exceptional journey.

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