Wrestler Bajrang Punia nominated for Khel Ratna award, says he deserved it
New Delhi, Aug 16: Asian and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia was on Friday nominated for the country's highest sporting honour the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, a year after he threatened to move court for not getting his due.
His name was finalised by a 12-member selection committee on the opening day of a two-day meeting. The panel comprises the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia and M C Mary Kom among others and is headed by Justice (Retd) Mukundakam Sharma.
"Bajrang has been nominated for the Khel Ratna award. His name was a unanimous choice," a source close to the development said.
The source also said that the panel may add another athlete for the top honours on Saturday besides finalising the names for the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards.
Bajrang had threatened to move court after he was snubbed for the Khel Ratna award last year despite being a gold-medallist in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
On getting the nod on Friday, Bajrang asserted that he is a deserving candidate of the award.
"My job is to train hard and compete hard. My focus has always been on my performance and not awards. But the recognition does come your way when you do well," Bajrang told PTI from Georgia, where he is training for the World Championships.
"I had the achievements to deserve this award. I have always said that awards should go to the most deserving ones."
Bajrang had last year won the gold medal in the 65-kg freestyle event at the Asian Games held in Jakarta.
He had also won the gold medal in the same category at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Besides, he is a two-time medalist at the world championships and a strong medal hope for India at next year's Tokyo Olympics.
While Bajrang won a bronze in 60kg in 2013 World Championships, he bettered his feat last year by bagging a silver in the 65kg category.
He welcomed the recognition, but Bajrang said he doesn't consider it a motivation ahead of the the World Championships to be held from September 14 to 22 at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
"My focus has always been on preparing for the big stage but yes, recognition makes you happy. It is certainly a good news weeks before the World Championship," he said.
"I don't need motivation from outside, I am motivated to do well at the World Championships in Kazakhstan. It (award) does not make any difference to my preparations. Putting on quality performance is my focus and it will remain."
Bajrang is only the fourth wrestler to be finalised for the Khel Ratna award after Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sakshi Malik.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is the highest sporting honour of the country and comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.
It is a part of National Sports Awards bestowed on the occasion of National Sports Day by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 every year to commemorate the birthday anniversary of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand.
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3 US troops killed, 5 seriously wounded during Iran attacks, military says
Washington (AP): Three American service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded during the US attacks on Iran, the military said Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a major offensive that has sparked retaliation from the Islamic Republic.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, announced the deaths in a post on X but did not say when and where they occurred. The statement said “several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions” and were going to return to duty.
Central Command described the situation “as fluid” and said it would withhold the identities of the service members who were killed for 24 hours after their families were notified.
The US military also denied Iranian claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was struck with ballistic missiles, saying on X that the “missiles launched didn't even come close.”
President Donald Trump had warned that American troops could be killed or injured in the operation.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” the Republican president said in a video address released early Saturday. “That often happens in war. But we're doing this not for now. We're doing this for the future.”
Following the US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other leaders, Iran's counterattacks have struck US bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israeli and American military installations.
Before the strikes, Trump had built up the largest US military presence in the Middle East in decades. The arrival of the Lincoln and three accompanying guided-missile destroyers at the end of January bolstered the number of warships in the region.
The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later were dispatched from the Caribbean Sea to head to the Middle East.
The Ford was part of the US raid in Venezuela that captured leader Nicolás Maduro, who was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The operation in January claimed no American lives but left seven US troops with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.
One of those injured received the Medal of Honor during Trump's State of the Union address last week. Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover piloted the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” where Maduro was staying.
Trump has launched several military operations during his second term, including strikes on members of the Islamic State group in Syria in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two US troops and an American civilian interpreter in December.
The US military has also struck IS forces in Nigeria, after Trump accused the West African country's government of failing to rein in the targeting of Christians.
