There's been a lapse in filing nominations, may be on my part: Manu Bhaker on Khel Ratna furore
New Delhi, Dec 24: Paris Olympics' double bronze-medallist Manu Bhaker on Tuesday admitted that "there has been a lapse may be on my part" while filing nominations for this year's National Sports Awards amid a raging controversy over her exclusion from the list of Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees.
A day after the sports ministry had to do damage control by insisting that the list of awardees is yet to be finalised, the 22-year-old pistol ace took to social media to clarify her position on not being among those recommended for the country's highest sporting honour.
"With regards to ongoing issue for my nomination for the most prestigious Khel Ratna award -- I would like to state that as an athlete my role is to play and perform for my country.
"I believe there has been a lapse, maybe on my part while filing for the nomination which is being corrected," Bhaker wrote on X.
The Haryana shooter said her aim is to perform for the country and it would not change whether she gets an award or not.
This was after her father Ramkishan Bhaker and personal coach Jaspal Rana stated that the snub had affected her morale and drive to perform for the country.
"Awards and recognition keeps me motivated but are not my goal," she asserted.
"Irrespective of the award I shall remain motivated to win more medals for my country. It is a request to everyone, please do not speculate on this," she said.
Rana and Ramkishan lambasted the sports ministry and the selection committee for overlooking her despite her monumental achievements.
However, the list is yet to be finalised as per the sports ministry, which said she is likely to be there when the names are finally revealed in a few days' time.
It is reliably learnt that men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar have been short-listed for the Khel Ratna along with 30 Arjuna awardees, 17 of them from para disciplines.
The awards selection committee is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Ramasubramanian and also includes former women's hockey captain Rani Rampal, boxer Vijender Singh, and cricket great Anil Kumble among others.
The committee is mandated to consider those who file their applications but if required, it is also empowered to discuss names which do not feature in that list.
Manu's exclusion was a shock due to the fact that her historic Olympic performance came just a few months back and is still fresh in public memory.
The youngster is the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics.
She won her bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team (with Sarabjot Singh) events in Paris.
— Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) December 24, 2024
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India has agreed already to drop its tariffs to nothing: President Trump
New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.
“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.
“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
