Fifteen awards were presented to the state’s sportsmen at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday.
The Ekalavya awards – Karnataka’s version of the Arjuna – for excellence in sports was revived last year by the current sports minister, Goolihatti Shekar.
While recognition of excellence in any sphere of activity is important, it’s vital that this should not become another government ritual. As things stand, the procedure of selecting the awardees has some inherent flaws.
The selection panel includes heads of federations and coaches, and this naturally creates suspicions of favouritism. Why not have a more democratic panel consisting of veteran sportsmen (not active coaches), against whom no such charges can be brought?
Secondly, why must athletes be required to apply for awards? As one player recently told DNA: “It’s a bit insulting to think that I’m required to apply for an award for the government to recognise me. It’s their job to recognise my achievements.”
The process of application itself causes a bottleneck – illiterate or semi-literate athletes from rural areas, for instance, can hardly be expected to be self-reliant in such matters.
The selection of the eventual awardees is itself too subjective. A detailed computerised record of each athlete should be compiled over the year to facilitate comparison.
Despite these flaws, there were some deserving names among the winners. Sports like chess and the para games (for the physically challenged) have been recognised.MS Thej Kumar from Mysore, one of the awardees, was happy that chess players were finally being recognised by the state.
“Last year there were two awardees from chess, and this year I was selected. It’s one of the best awards I have received. However, public awareness about chess is still not good enough. There should be more chess tournaments in the state and more publicity is required.”
To his credit, the sports minister has brought some vitality to his portfolio and does not treat this as another step to higher ministerial ambitions.
The revival of the Ekalavya is one such indicator. He has announced four new awards from next year onwards – the Chief Minister’s award, the Sports Minister’s award, Division-level sports awards and district-level sports awards.
With luck, these awards will honour true accomplishments in sport, and not award the lackeys of bureaucrats and other officials.
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