Archer Jyothi Surekha disappointed at Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award snub
Archer Vennam Jyothi Surekha was disappointed at being ignored for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chan Khel Ratna award.
Hyderabad: Archer Vennam Jyothi Surekha was disappointed at being ignored for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award.
The awards committee, headed by Justice (retd) AM Khanwilkar, recommended only one name – table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal – for the sports highest honour.
However, the Vijayawada archer rued that her achievements were not considered. Jyothi Surekha, the 26-year-old Arjuna awardee, has won six medals in the World Championships and she is the only player to win three silver medals at the World Championships, 2021. She had also won medals at the Asian Games, World Games and World Cup final. According to the criteria, she has 75 points.
On the whole, the World No.3 compound archer, has 42 international medals in her 12-year-long career. “It is disappointing to miss out on the Khel Ratna award. But I am not demotivated. I will work harder and keep my focus on the game,” she said.
Meanwhile, Jyothi Surekha’s father Surendra Kumar said the committee has referred to only one game while multiple athletes were conferred with the prestigious award in the past. For the record, the committee recommended five names in 2020 and 11 in the year 2021.
“Jyothi Surekha has won six world championship medals out of India’s total 11. She deserves the honour,” said her father Surendra Kumar. “There is no archery in the Commonwealth Games. But she has the highest number of medals from World Championships. She is the world no.1 in mixed team event and no.3 in individual category. She won gold in the mixed team at the 2022 Paris World Cup. She deserves the honour,” he added.
“When the performances were good during the Olympic year, the number of awards was increased. But this year, they have nominated only one athlete which is sad,” he further added.
The archer is now training hard for the upcoming national ranking tournaments and then will focus on international events lined up from April.
