Cricket bigger than Olympics?

It is unfair that cricketers were given the Padma awards and not Olympians Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh, say readers

Cricket bigger than Olympics?

UNSUNG HEROES: Wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Singh won bronze medals at the Olympics

It is unfair that cricketers were given the Padma awards and not Olympians Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh, say readers

It is indeed sad that the Olympians, wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Singh, who won bronze medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for India, have not received any recognition from the Indian government. By winning bronze medals at the Olympics they made India proud and should have been honoured with the Padma awards.u00a0

A Padma award would have gone a long way in not only motivating them, but also other aspiring sportspersons in the country. By keeping them out of the list of Padma awardees the government has demoralised these two young sportsmen.u00a0u00a0

Abhinav Bindra who struck gold at the Olympics was conferred with the Padma Bhushan. Cricketers are considered demi-gods in our country and hence, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off spinner Harbhajan Singh were awarded the Padma Shri.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

I fail to understand why Harbhajan Singh was given the award. He has not made any outstanding contribution to Indian sports. Has the government forgotten his tiff with Australia's Andrew Symonds. It appears like Bhajji has been honoured with the Padma Shri for his notoriety.u00a0u00a0
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Partiality
Corrupt practices have been followed while shortlisting names for the prestigious Padma awards. It was shocking to see wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Singh, who won bronze medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, were not given this honour on Republic Day.

It comes as no surprise that in a nation that considers cricket as religion, cricketers were given preference over the Olympians. Making it to the Indian cricket team is no mean feat. However, qualifying for the Olympics requires years of training and hard work.

Both Kumar and Singh competed with the best sportspersons in the world and went on to make India proud by bagging bronze medals. They definitely deserved the Padma awards.u00a0u00a0u00a0

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