Ram Kishan, the father of double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, was devastated to learn that the shooter had been left off of the Khel Ratna list. Ram Kishan, who was upset with the nomination procedure, suggested that his daughter would have received more acclaim if he had chosen to make her a cricket player rather than a shooter.
Manu Bhaker's father on Khel Ratna snub
Ram Kishan Bhaker expressed regret for placing Manu in the shooting sport in an interview with the Times of India. He criticized the administration and questioned what more her daughter might have done to merit praise for her efforts.
"I regret putting her in the sport of shooting. I should have instead made her a cricketer. Then, all the awards and accolades would have come her way. She won two Olympic medals in a single edition, no one has ever done that. What else do you expect my child to do for the country? The government must recognise her efforts," said Manu Bhaker's father.
Manu Bhaker, the only double medallist from the Paris Olympics, was not included in the list of nominees for India's highest sporting honour, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, sources told Sports Tak on December 23. The shooter's name was not suggested for the coveted award by a 12-member National Sports Day committee led by Justice V Ramasubramam, a retired Supreme Court judge.
Ram Kishan, Manu Bhaker's father, stated that they applied for the honour and did not receive a response from the committee, despite the Sports Ministry's alleged denial that Bhaker did not apply for it.
"Manu said she had applied on the portal. If that was the case, then the committee must have considered her name. Whatever the situation, the federation has approached the ministry and requested the officials to include her name," the source said.
Manu Bhaker's father reveals conversation with daughter post snub
Ram Kishan revealed that his daughter Manu was extremely disappointed and disheartened after the reports of her snub came out and said that she was regretting the decision to play and win medals for India in the Paris Olympics.
"I spoke to Manu, and she was disheartened by all this. She told me 'I shouldn't have gone to the Olympics and won medals for the country. In fact, I shouldn't have become a sportsperson'," Manu's father told TOI.
