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“There’s no questioning the athletes’ achievements, but I’m not the one to decide. There’s a separate committee that looks after it,” he said.
While shooter Abhinav Bindra, who won gold at the Olympics, got the Padma Bhushan, the bronze medallist duo of boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar was overlooked.
The IOA said the government, in doing this, had slighted the sportpersons.
“There cannot be a more disappointing thing than this. Abhinav achieved what no Indian could do in the last 108 years and for that he deserves at least the Padma Vibhushan,” IOA secretary general Randhir Singh said.
“As if it wasn’t enough, boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won bronze medals in the Beijing Games, were completely ignored. You expect sportspersons to bring glory to the country but you don’t encourage them. It downgrades the position of the sportspersons. “What more can the two poor chaps do to get the award?” he asked.
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