New Delhi, Aug 02: The government today rejected the proposal of the newly-formed Arjuna Awards Committee to increase the number of awardees from this year, saying it will stick to the "old policies" while selecting sportspersons for the honour. "We have not made any changes in the guidelines and will follow the old policies while selecting sportspersons for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards, Sports Minister Vikram Verma said here.
"There won`t be any deviation this time and no increase in number of awardees," the minister said, putting to rest speculation about two sportspersons being selected for the coveted Khel Ratna Award 2002. The newly-formed Arjuna Awards Committee chairman P K Banerjee, who was here to finalise the names for nomination, had said on Thursday that it will suggest to the government to increase the number of awardees to accommodate more deserving candidates.
As per the government guidelines, 15 sportspersons and a disabled athlete are selected for the Arjuna Awards each year while the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is given to one sportsperson. The government`s decision not to deviate from its policy may force the Arjuna Awards Committee, which had decided to nominate 21 for the Arjuna Awards and two -- athlete K M Beenamol and shooter Anjali Bhagwat -- for Khel Ratna, to amend the list before submitting it to the sports ministry.
The Arjuna Award winners are - V. Sehwag (cricket), Anju George (athletics), Suma Shirur and Anwar Sultan (shooting), T.Muthu (weightlifting), Palwinder Cheema (wrestling), I. M Vijayan (football), Shiv Kapur (golf), Gagan Ajit Singh and Mamta Kharab (hockey), V. Ravikant Reddy (volleyball), Alok Kumar (billiards), Ram Mehar Singh (kabaddi). Bureau Report