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Former athletic National champion D.Anil Kumar has stated that that the Kerala government has metted out unfair treatment towards him by ignoring him for the prestigious GV Raja award, which is conferred by the Government of Kerala every year, reported Indian Express. The athlete has alleged that the state government has been ignoring him for the past 15 years and more so in the recent past, even after he hung up his boots early in 2008. The plight of the ex-armyman is a sorry piece for news for many athletic fans and they would want to government to consider Anil’s case in the immediate future.
“I will urge the council to spell out what more should I accomplish to get the award,” said Kumar.
The sprinter thought his name would be considered in 2014, when two other athletes who had also retired, were named for the award. But to his utter dismay, his name was missing and this irked him even more.
Former long jump champion Anju Bobby George and volleyball player Tom Joseph, both retired sports professionals, were considered along with Asian Games medallist O P Jaisha and Jibin Thomas in 2014.
Kumar also alleged that other deserving sportspersons too were ignored for the award and has already gone to the length of filing a complaint before the high court of Kerala, seeking clarification on the award selection criteria.
He said that his ex-teammates Ramachandran and Liju David Thottan too, were ignored along with him. Currently, Kumar works as an athletic coach with Sports Authority of India(SAI) and trains about 14 national-level players.
Sports Council secretary Binu George Varghese said the G V Raja awards were awarded on an unbiased basis. “We have an eight-member committee comprising eminent people who declare the winners each year,” he said.
“The panel reached a consensus that none other than P R Sreejesh, who represented the country in hockey at the Asian Games and Olympics, deserved the award in the male category. We have a criterion to pick candidates based on their performance in the preceding four years.”
G V Raja awards are the highest government-level recognition rewarded for sports persons in the state of Kerala. The award comprises a purse of Rs One lakh and citation.
