Post Date: Post Date – 11:30 PM, Sat – Nov 5th
Archer Vennam Jyothi Surekha is disappointed that the prestigious Major Dhyan Chan Khel Ratna Award has been ignored.
Hyderabad: Archer Vennam Jyothi Surekha is disappointed that the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award has been ignored.
The awards committee, headed by Justice (retd) AM Khanwilkar, recommended only one name – table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal – for the sport’s highest honour.
However, the Vijayawada Archer regretted not considering her achievements. Arjuna winner Jyothi Surekha, 26, who has six medals at the World Championships, is the only player to have three silver medals at the 2021 World Championships. She has also won medals at the Asian Games, World Games and World Cup finals. According to the standard, she has 75 points.
Overall, the world’s third-ranked compound archer has won 42 international medals in her 12-year career. “It’s disappointing to miss out on the Khel Ratna Award. But I’m not discouraged. I’ll work harder and focus on the game,” she said.
Meanwhile, Jyothi Surekha’s father, Surendra Kumar, said the committee had only mentioned one competition, while multiple athletes have won the prestigious award in the past. For the record, the committee recommended five names in 2020 and 11 in 2021.
“Jyothi Surekha has won 6 of India’s 11 World Championship medals. She deserves the honor,” said her father Surendra Kumar. “There is no archery at the Commonwealth Games. But she has the most medals at the World Championships. She is world No. 1 in the mixed team event and third in the individual event. She won the mixed team gold medal at the 2022 Paris World Cup. She deserves it. this honor,” he added.
“When the Olympic year is good, the number of awards goes up. But this year, they nominated only one sad athlete,” he further added.
The archer is now training hard for the upcoming national rankings and will then focus on international events starting in April.
