Rename Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award after sports personality: Babita Phogat
Chandigarh: Indian wrestler Babita Phogat on Wednesday said the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award should be renamed after a prominent sports personality.
Sports-related awards should be named only after great and respected players and not after any political person, Phogat said in a tweet.
How do you like the suggestion of renaming Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award after a player, she asked in a tweet, as many Twitter users responded to one of her earlier tweets in this regard.
When asked by reporters to comment on the issue, she said, The Khel Ratna award has been named after Rajiv Gandhi. Instead, had it been named after any player, it would have been more appropriate.
There are so many Olympic and world champion medalists in our country and players too would have felt more proud and motivated in receiving the award if it was named after a prominent sports personality, she said.
The Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour, is named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
A month ago, the Haryana government had appointed Babita Phogat as the deputy director in its Sports and Youth Affairs Department.
Babita Phogat is the daughter of Mahavir Phogat, a noted wrestling coach.
The Phogats became a household name in the country after the success of Hindi film "Dangal'', which is based on the lives of the Phogat sisters, all of them wrestlers, and their father who coached them against all odds.
Babita Phogat, along with her father, had joined the BJP in August last year.
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Seven killed, three injured in separate road accidents in UP
Mainpuri/Muzaffarnagar/Deoria (UP) (PTI): Seven people were killed and three others injured in separate road accidents in Mainpuri, Muzaffarnagar and Deoria districts of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Wednesday.
All incidents took place on Tuesday night.
In Mainpuri, three persons, including a couple, were killed near the Shitala Devi Temple on Devi Road under Kotwali police circle when a pickup vehicle hit a motorcycle head-on, Superintendent of Police Ganesh Saha said.
The victims, Dharmendra Singh (50), his wife Baby (48), both residents of Ferozabad, and Sanjay Singh (40) of Tavepur village, were on the two-wheeler and were on their way to attend the cremation of a relative when the incident took place.
According to police, the pickup and a Wagon R car were attempting to overtake each other when the former went out of control and rammed into the motorcycle, killing all three riders on the spot. Police rushed to the scene and sent the bodies for post-mortem examination, Saha added.
In Muzaffarnagar's Charthawal town, a 30-year-old woman, identified as Imrana, was killed while another woman was injured after a speeding car hit them on Rajbaha Road.
Circle Officer Ravishankar said the victims were walking when the car struck them, throwing Imrana into a canal. She was declared dead by the doctors.
Following the incident, villagers staged a protest demanding action against the driver, who fled the spot without the vehicle. Police said efforts are underway to trace and arrest the accused.
In another incident in Deoria district, three persons were killed, and two others seriously injured when a car crashed into a tree in the Baghochghat area late Tuesday night, police said.
The accident occurred near Haji Market when a Bihar-registered Swift car coming from Pakaha went out of control and rammed into a roadside tree, leaving the vehicle badly mangled.
Police said five people were travelling in the car. Three of them died on the spot, while two injured persons were admitted to Maharshi Devaraha Baba Medical College in Deoria.
The deceased have been identified as Karan Kushwaha, a resident of Gopalganj district in Bihar, and Pintu Kumar of Dulharpur village under Phulwaria police station. The identity of the third deceased is yet to be established.
The injured have been identified as Govind Kushwaha (18) of Sisai village in Kushinagar and Bhola Srivastava alias Sonu (22). Police said the occupants had visited a relative's place in Kushinagar and were returning after attending a wedding function when the accident occurred.
Station House Officer Anil Tiwari said police had to use a gas cutter to rescue the victims trapped inside the vehicle.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further legal proceedings are underway, he added.
