Two Olympic Medals, Zero Khel Ratna: The Real Rules of Indian Sports

Sindujaa D N

In a nation where athletes sweat it out for years to bring home Olympic medals, it seems there's a new criterion for being honored with the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award—filling out an application form! Enter manu Bhaker, the shooting prodigy who, for some unfathomable reason, believed that winning two Olympic medals would suffice to get her name on the list. Silly her!

manu Bhaker, the trailblazer who created history by bagging two bronze medals at the paris Olympics, might have been the toast of the nation a few months ago. But hey, rules are rules, and paperwork is paperwork. According to officials, Bhaker is missing from the nominations not because she isn't deserving (who cares about that anyway?) but because she supposedly didn't apply. Yes, folks, the girl who braved pressure, competition, and a malfunctioning pistol in tokyo 2021 couldn’t brave the bureaucratic labyrinth of filling out a nomination form.

But wait, the plot thickens! Her family has come forward, rubbishing the claims and insisting they did everything by the book. So now, we're left wondering: Did the application vanish into the same black hole where missing Aadhaar updates, misplaced government files, and all our hopes for timely governance go?

Meanwhile, the officials seem utterly unbothered by the backlash. For them, this is business as usual. After all, why celebrate athletic achievements when you can celebrate your paperwork compliance instead? “Winning medals is hard, sure, but have you tried submitting a form correctly?” might as well be the new slogan of indian sports administration.

So, to all aspiring athletes, here’s the lesson: train hard, shoot straight, but don’t forget the holy grail of indian sports—a properly submitted form. Because in this country, medals make you a hero, but a completed application form makes you a legend.

manu Bhaker, we salute you—not just for your Olympic glory, but for reminding us of the farcical hoops our athletes must jump through after crossing the literal ones at the Olympics.

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