Olympic medallist shooter Gagan Narang has urged athletes, who were not nominated for this year’s Khel Ratna Award, to not get disheartened but take it as a challenge to do better in future competitions. Some para-athletes like archer Harvinder Singh, who turned his Tokyo Games bronze into a gold in Paris last year, have expressed their disappointment at not being considered for Khel Ratna. Narang, the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist who is now the Indian Olympic Association vice-president said medals, more than awards, should be the “ultimate goal” of athletes.
“For any athlete, an award is a source of encouragement. But when an athlete begins his journey, awards are not the ultimate goal. What truly matters is bringing medals home for the country,” Narang told PTI Videos.
“Awards will come and go. If not this time, one can get it next year. I don’t think it should be a de-motivating factor… they should get inspired to perform better in the future.” Narang said athletes had realised over time that country is above everything else, including medals.
“I think these athletes have also understood over a period of time that country matters the most and is the number one priority.” He also acknowledged the challenges faced by the jury in an Olympic year, where exceptional performances abound, making the selection process demanding.
“Keeping in mind the Olympic year, it is a very difficult job for the jury to take a call after seeing so many great performances,” he said.
Narang hoped the suggestions made by members of the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), whose meeting was held on Tuesday, would be worked upon in the near future. Besides Narang, badminton great P. Gopichand and former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta, among others, are members of the MOC.
“Several procedural suggestions were made by the members. I’m hopeful these changes will be implemented in the coming months.”
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