Glaring Omissions in 2024 National Sports Awards Nominations Raise Eyebrows

The sports ministry has officially announced the nominees list for the 2024 National Sports Awards, but amidst the usual nominations, there are several notable names that have been glaringly omitted.

Several Indian athletes, including Manu Bhaker and Harmanpreet Singh, have made it to the nominee lists. However, the omissions in the Khel Ratna nomination list from Paris Paralympics medallist Harinder Singh to archer Jyothi Vennam who won three gold medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, and Paris Paralympics silver medallists Yogesh Kathuniya and para high jumper Sharad Kumar are noteworthy.

Paris Paralympics gold medallist Harvinder Singh recently expressed his frustration on social media after being left out of the nomination list. He attributed it to "discrimination" in national sports awards.

Other athletes who have been overlooked for the Khel Ratna award include Paris Olympics Bronze medal-winning shooter Manu Bhaker, and Para-Judo player Kapil Parmar, who also won his events at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.