For a group of mediapersons who came to cover the event, it was a lousy way to begin another day at work.

Though they arrived at 10 a.m -- one hour before the start of the function -- they were directed to wait in the reception near the forecourt for more than half-an hour. The staff manning the reception gave differing versions when asked about the delay. To some they said it was because some VIP's had just arrived, while some others were told the awardees are entering the hall so they would have to wait. Another version was that the hall was already full.

Anyway, Tendulkar went up to the dais first and was given a nice warm round of applause, after President KR Narayanan, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti finally succeeded in unrolling the scroll that comes with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

The loudest cheers, however, were not for Tendulkar, but for Naresh Kumar Sharma, a handicapped, pony-tailed shooter, for his outstanding achievement in the Air Pistol, Free Pistol and Sports Pistol events on the world stage.

The minute the ceremony was over with the National Anthem, there was mayhem. Everyone wanted a dekko at Tendulkar and his wife. But the couple had been whisked away, reportedly, for a tete-a-tete with the President. So, the mob quickly turned their attention on Saurav Ganguly. Parents shoving their kids forward, teenagers hanging around. And then Ajay Jadeja was spotted. Same scene all over again. And when Tendulkar re-appeared, Jadeja and Ganguly were left alone and the stampede touched a new high.

Clearly, Tendulkar was fed up.

LIST OF RECIPIENTS

RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD (1997-98): Sachin Tendulkar (cricket)
DRONACHARYA AWARD (1997): Joginder Singh Saini (athletics)
ARJUNA AWARDS (1997): Reeth Abraham (athletics), Ashok Shandilya (billiards) Ajay Jadeja and Saurav Ganguly (cricket), Brahamand Shankhwalkar (football), Harmeet Kahlon (golf), Harmik Singh, Surinder Singh Sodhi and Rajinder Singh (hockey), Randhir Singh (kabaddi), Satender Kumar and Shilpi Singh (shooting), Misha Grewal (squash), Chetan Baboor (table tennis), Asif Ismail (tennis), N Laxmi, Paramjit Sharma (weightlifting), Jagdish Singh and Sanjay Kumar (wrestling).
Handicapped Category: M Mahadeva (athletics, cricket) Naresh Kumar Sharma (shooting): Only last week Naresh Kumar won two gold medals in the German International Championship)
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Trophy for 1996-97: Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar