Reflecting on his decision to move the court over his exclusion from the list of Khel Ratna Awardees for 2024, two-time Paralympic silver medallist Yogesh Kathuniya has claimed that the National Sports Awards list was released on January 2, deliberately coinciding with the week when the courts were closed, alleging that this timing was planned to prevent him from taking any action. Paris Paralympics 2024 silver medallist Kathuniya, who was earlier conferred the Arjuna Award for winning a silver medal in the men’s discus throw F56 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, had approached the Delhi High Court challenging his non-inclusion in the list of awardees of the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award for 2024.
The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, directed the Central Government’s selection committee to reassess the candidature of Paralympic discus thrower for the prestigious Khel Ratna Award.
Speaking to IANS, Kathuniya vented his frustration over not being nominated for the elusive award, saying, “I had to go to court because we were waiting for the final list to see if they would recognize their mistakes. But even then, they didn’t consider it. These things are in the hands of SAI. We had even challenged the decision based on the highest aggregate marks, which is as per the rules. Everything is clearly mentioned, including how many points are for the Paralympics and World Championships.
“Despite having all the required points and representing India, the thing we deserve is not being given. I didn’t want to regret not doing anything about it, so I went to the Delhi High Court. The judge has passed an order to reconsider my candidature. Now we’ll see what they do. So far, there has been no response from their side,” he said.
Kathuniya also alleges, “The list was released on January 2 because the courts were closed for a week. All these things are planned so that I don’t take any action. That’s why I filed an appeal in the High Court on January 7. Everything was already planned, and getting court dates so quickly is very difficult. Still, the court listened to our case.”
The 27-year-old para-athlete further pointed out that of the four sportspersons conferred with Khel Ratna this year, only one is a para-athlete, alleging “discrimination” in the distribution of sports awards.
In contrast, following India’s gold-winning performance at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, shooter Avani Lekhara, javelin thrower Sumit Antil, and shuttler Pramod Bhagat were honoured with the Khel Ratna along with Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.
“If we don’t fight for our rights, what will happen? Because of these things, I missed out on my workouts, and many other things are missed as well. I know I am deserving. If I’m not deserving, then I want to ask-have you noticed something about the Khel Ratna Awards? There’s one Paralympian and three Olympians.
“This discrimination has been going on for years, and it will continue unless someone raises the voice. I want to eliminate this discrimination, which is why I turned to the court for help,” Kathuniya continued.
When asked if he had gotten any help from the Paralympic Committee of India regarding the issue, Kathuniya said, “PCI has no control over this; what PCI can do is help us compete and move forward. The awards are in the hands of the Ministry. If I didn’t take this step today, who knows who would have received the award in the coming years? Many athletes have received the Arjuna Award or Khel Ratna just for one medal.”
“A Paralympian needs to win a medal at the Paralympics to even get an Arjuna Award, while an Olympian can easily get the Arjuna Award just by playing at the Asian Games. Why does this discrimination happen? No one has raised a question about it,” he added.
Reflecting on his future targets, Kathiniya said he is focusing on the Para-Athletics World Championships, which will take place in New Delhi, marking the first time the event will be hosted in India, from September 26 to October 5. “I will play in the World Championships, and no one can stop me. I will perform, and nobody can stop me,” he concluded.
Besides his two Paralympic medals, Kathunya is also a three-time Para World Championships medallist and a silver medal winner at the Asian Para Games 2023 in the F56 category.
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