New Delhi: The national sports award winners' selection procedure could be postponed this year until after the Tokyo Olympics, in order for the selection panel to add names of Olympic medalists to the list of awards. The Olympics are supposed to take place from July 23 to August 8.
"We have already received nominations for this year's National Sports Awards. The dates of nominations are closed as of now. But in our last meeting we discussed about including Olympic medallists, if any, for consideration in this year's awards," a sports ministry source told PTI.
He also mentioned that because the Olympics end on August 8, the process of selecting awards may be delayed highlighting that the ceremony may automatically be postponed if the selection panel fails to finalise the names of the recipients within 10 days of the Games' conclusion.
The ministry stated that a meeting will be held shortly after the Olympics to decide on this, and that every Indian athlete who wins an Olympic medal will be automatically considered for the award. A final decision on this matter will be made soon.
"If we can conduct the meeting within a week or 10 days after the Olympics, then the awards will given on August 29 otherwise it might be postponed by a few days," the source said.
Each year on August 29, National Sports Day, which also happens to be the birthday of hockey icon Major Dhyan Chand, the honors are presented by the country's president.
After two extensions, the nomination procedure for national honors came to an end on July 5. In light of the pandemic, candidates were given the option of self-nominating online, although national federations also submitted their selections.
Last year, 74 recipients were honored with the awards in a virtual ceremony due to the pandemic.
The prize money was also significantly enhanced, with Khel Ratna recipients receiving Rs 25 lakh, Arjuna awardees Rs 15 lakh, Dronacharya (Lifetime) winners Rs 15 lakh, and Dhyanchand recipients receiving Rs 10 lakh.