India achieved a historic feat with an impressive haul of 107 medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, and among the standout performers was 27-year-old compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam. India's top-ranked compound archer in mixed and team events, Surekha clinched gold medals in three events: women's individual, women's team, and mixed team at the Asiad.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recently released the list of nominated sportspersons for the National Sports Awards 2023, but the list did not feature the ace archer. Surekha expressed profound disappointment at not being chosen for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award this year, despite her standout performances in the world of archery.
Over the past six months, Surekha has clinched a total of 13 international medals, including three golds at the Asian Games, a gold and silver at the World Championships, four golds and two bronzes at the World Cup, and a gold and silver at the Asian Championships.
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In the Olympic cycle from January 1, 2019, to the conclusion of the Asian/Para Games 2023, considered for assessing sports achievements, Surekha secured seven World Championships medals and three Asian Games golds. In total, she has amassed 53 international medals and 62 national ones, all at the age of 27.
The decision to recommend the Khel Ratna for the ace badminton men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has left Surekha questioning the selection process. With a total of 148.74 points, the highest among applicants, she surpassed the points awarded to Satwik and Chirag. Despite these accomplishments, Surekha has been excluded from the Khel Ratna list.
“I am deeply disappointed and disheartened over the snub. I believe my achievements speak for me. I want to know the reasons from the sports ministry, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the awards selection committee as to why my name wasn’t considered for the Khel Ratna despite logging the highest points,” TOI quoted World No 3, Surekha as saying.
While considering legal action if a satisfactory explanation is not provided, Surekha views it as a final recourse.
"I have that option but that’s the last one. First of all, I want to know the reasons why my name wasn’t considered before approaching the court," she affirmed.
Nominees For Prestigious Sports Award:
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (badminton)
Arjuna Award: Mohammed Shami (cricket), Ajay Reddy (blind cricket) Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery), Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Sheetal Devi (para archery), Parul Chaudhary and M Sreeshankar (athletics), Mohd Hussamuddin (boxing), R Vaishali (chess), Divyakriti Singh and Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Diksha Dagar (golf), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey), Sushila Chanu (hockey), Pinky (lawn ball), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), Antim Panghal (wrestling), Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis)