Govt official allegedly asks for bribe from para-athlete for Arjuna nomination

Mumbai: Indian sports officials’ apathy does not just end with Sports Minister Vijay Goel calling PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik “gold medallists”. While the top athletes from this year’s Rio Olympics bask in the limelight of the Khel Ratna awards, the scenario is quite different with the paralympic athletes.

The case of para-runner Ankur Dhama brings into light, a completely different side of the government officials’ apathy towards sports.

According to Sportskeeda, Dhama, who has won four international medals in 2016 and is also set to become the first Indian blind runner at the Rio Paralympics, was told by a government official that his accomplishments were not enough to earn him an Arjuna Award nomination.

“On April 18, 2016, I submitted my nomination to Delhi government Sports officer Pradeep Tayal at the Chattarshal stadium, 12 days before the final date. However, when I went there, he told me my achievements were not good enough for an Arjuna award,” Dhama said to sports website Sportskeeda.

To add to this, Dhama was told by the official that he needs to shell out an amount of Rs 5 lakhs (supposedly as bribe) to have his application for the Arjuna Award accepted.

“I told him I didn’t have enough money to even fund my own training, what money would I give. He asked for a total amount of Rs 5 lakhs. When he asked me I was shocked by hearing this,” said Dhama. “Apart from telling me that my achievement wasn’t good enough, he was asking me for validation about my success. I have won three medals at the Asian Para Games which is equivalent to the Asian Games, do we treat those athletes the same way?”

Dhama hails from a poor family, where his father earns meagre wages working as an agricultural labourer. The 28-year-old had lost his sight after an injury to the eye was left untreated. Incidentally, his family did not have Rs 60,000 to treat him.