Manu Bhaker said she shouldn't have gone to the Olympics and won medals for India after Khel Ratna snub, claims shooter's father

Shooting star Manu Bhaker’s father has slammed her omission from the Khel Ratna award, going to the extent of saying he regretted introducing her daughter to the sport of shooting and should have encouraged her to take up cricket instead. He even quoted Manu as saying that she “should not have gone to the Olympics and won medals for her country” after not being considered for the prestigious award.

Bhaker's name was reportedly missing from the list of sportspersons nominated for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award despite the 22-year-old pistol shooter winning two bronze medals in the Paris Olympics earlier this year.

“I regret putting her in the sport of shooting. I should have instead made her a cricketer. Then, all the awards and accolades would have come her way. She won two Olympic medals in a single edition, no one has ever done that. What else do you expect my child to do for the country?

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“The government must recognise her efforts. I spoke to Manu, and she was disheartened by all this. She told me ‘I shouldn’t have gone to the Olympics and won medals for the country. In fact, I shouldn’t have become a sportsperson’,” Manu’s father Ram Kishan Bhaker told The Times of India.

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A crestfallen Bhaker had expressed her anguish on social media after the snub, questioning whether she deserved the prestigious award or not in a post on X that has since been deleted.

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“Tell me, Do I deserve Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award? Thank You,” wrote Bhaker, who became the first Indian athlete post-Independence to win two medals in the same edition of the Olympics.

Manu Bhaker posted this and then deleted it....wtf 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Fe00l5EqEc

— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) October 26, 2024

The Sports Ministry insists the double Olympic medallist did not apply for the award, a claim that has been strongly refuted by Bhaker and her family. At the same time, if an athlete does not formally apply for an award, the selection committee can take a suo moto cognizance based on his/her sporting achievements.

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami had not applied for the Arjuna Award last year, but ended up winning it regardless after a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).