The Sports Ministry has dropped para-sports coach Satyanarayana from the list of this year’s Dronacharya awardees due to criminal defamation cause pending against him.
However, Ministry has made no change to the names recommended for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards. The decision means that tennis star Rohan Bopanna and weightlifter Sanjitta Chanu will miss out of the prestigious award despite the late push.
It a disappointment for Satyabarayana who claimed that ‘’jealous’’ people have launched a campaign against but the man that coached Paralympic gold medalist Mariyappan has been removed the list.
Final list for the award is as follows
Khel Ratna award: Devendra Jhajaria (Para Athletics), Sardar Singh (Hockey)
Dronacharya award: Late Ramakrishnan Gandhi (Athletics), Heera Nand Kataria (Kabaddi)
Arjuna award: Saketh Myneni (Tennis), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Paralympic High Jump), Khushbir Kaur (Race Walking), Arokia Rajiv (Athletics - 400m), Prashanti Singh (Basketball), SV Sunil (Hockey), SSP Chawrasia (Golf), Satyawart Kadian (Wrestling), Anthony Amalraj (Table Tennis), PN Prakash (Shooting), Jasvir Singh (Kabaddi), Devendro Singh (Boxing), Oinam Bembem Devi (Football), Varun Bhati (Paralympic High Jump), VJ Surekha (Archery), Cheteshwar Pujara (Cricket), Harmanpreet Kaur (Cricket)