Reward merit in sports, not vested interests
Selection for the National Sports Awards presented on August 29—birthday of hockey legend Dhyan Chand—is a constant source of controversy. This year, the noise is about the sudden expansion of the field, apart from the traditional debate over merit. In a change from the practice of choosing one or two other than in Olympic years, five were bestowed the Khel Ratna, India’s biggest sporting award. And despite a stipulated limit of 20 in place, 29 athletes were conferred the Arjuna. What did sportspersons achieve that caused this surge in numbers?
The answer is complex because there is no common yardstick. There are World Championship medallists who have shone at the top level. Then there is an Arjuna awardee from football, in which India has not done anything even at the Asian level. There are award winners from disciplines that are not played in the Olympic, Asian or Commonwealth Games.
Making the mix more diverse are cricketers, because cricket caters to its own world that is different from those of other global sports. So asking ‘why him or her’ and ‘why not him or her’ is an endless process. This is an inherent problem with these awards that cannot be eradicated. But that does not mean these awards should be used as a tool to look after vested, strategic or political interests.
Seeing on the list of recipients some who did not exactly excel in the recent past, one cannot but help get a feeling that these awards are given to more and more persons to build a pro-sports image. ‘Reward more to grab more attention’ seems to be the objective, rather than taking care of the true requirements of a sportsperson.
This is a populist principle seen before elections, when promises are made and freebies are doled out. Otherwise, there would have been no need to reward mediocrity or performance in retrospect to such an extent that the number of recipients has set a record. This also creates a false sense of accomplishment, apart from lowering the bar. If not checked, this will become an unwanted trend.