No show, no award

The sports ministry has decided to come down severely on those who fail to turn up to receive prestigious awards announced by it each year.

Not only has it amended its Sports Awards Scheme (SAS) that will now strike off the names of errant sportspersons, but also recommended that the same procedure be followed by the home ministry, which gives the Padma awards.

Following sports minister MS Gill’s criticism of cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh, who did not come for the Padma awards function earlier this month, Injeti Srinivas, joint secretary (sports) has issued the advise to various sports bodies.

“At the time of the ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan, the awards will be conferred upon the awardees who are present. No person other than the awardees will receive the award and prize money at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The awardees, who are not able to come to receive the award on the National Sports Day, can receive the same later from the minister in charge for youth affairs and sports,” said the letter that refers to the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyanchand award.

The letter also warns that the award would be withdrawn in case players don’t tell in advance about their inability to attend the function.

A copy of the letter has also been dispatched to the home ministry with the suggestion that the same rules be applied by it for sportspersons.

Dhoni and Harbhajan did not turn up to receive this year’s Padma Shri awards and were said to be busy shooting commercials. Harbhajan was in New Delhi for a commercial engagement the day after the awards function, where he clarified to the media that he had to attend to some urgent family matter in Jalandhar and thus had to skip the function. India skipper Dhoni has so far not given any explanation about his absence.

Neither of the players bothered to inform about the intended absence, giving rise to speculation that it was an intentional act done at the behest of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which did not have the warmest of relations with home minister P Chidambaram over security for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The IPL was shifted to South Africa after the home ministry said it was not in a position to ensure security for the high profile event featuring players from the world over. But while Chidambaram was expecting the organisers of the IPL to change the dates, which clashed with the general elections, the IPL decided to go overseas. The home ministry was not pleased with the decision because it felt it sent out a wrong signal to the world regarding security in the country.