Be Arjunas

For all the sweat and toil on the field for Indian athletes, there is nothing more rewarding than getting an Arjuna Award or the Rajeev Khel Ratna. No, it’s not about the money or scroll which the sporting stars get from the President of India. It’s got to do with pride and recognition.
At the Ashoka Hall on Wednesday, as athletes filed to collect their trophies from Pratibha Patil, there was pride in their hearts. And there could have been nothing more real than to see the world champion fly down from Europe just before a major competition to collect the Rajeev Khel Ratna. Who am I talking about? Well, none other than trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who in his new chiseled avatar looks a real dude.
He has lost nearly ten kilos and it has got nothing to do with getting married nine months back, but a new desire to shed weight. And for a man who stands well above six feet, Manav, as he is popularly known, was all smiles in the company of his wife Kangan and his parents.
Watching Manav mingle freely with Anjum Chopra, the template of Indian women’s cricket, I was a bit surprised. Guys, do you know each other I asked without batting an eyelid. The two kept quiet for a few seconds, and then let out the secret. “We were in the same school at the same time at DPS, RK Puram,” the duo said.
Come on, as a professional sports writer, I couldn’t have felt more embarrassed, not knowing that two of India’s best sporting stars knew each other well before. But would they have met at any other common venue? Unlikely, since shooting ranges are situated so far away and women’s cricket doesn’t have too many takers at home.
Today, Anjum is a well-known personality because of her TV presence, where she anchors major cricket programmes. But being at the Ashoka Hall, she looked starry-eyed. “Kannan, it’s so special to be here. Winning the Arjuna is like a dream come true,” she said. I don’t think she was exaggerating as having played well over a 100 ODIs and being in the sport for so long, she has got the recognition. Late, no doubt, but still better to be there unlike the men cricketers who are now not even considered for the Awards by the committee now.
The presentation of the awards was a very somber affair, and as has now become a practice, no voluble speeches from the President. Awardees just collect their trophies and make it the dining half for snacks.
In fact, Anjum Chopra was actually pleading with a waiter for some nimbu paani. Why? I guess like well-attended wedding ceremonies running short of food, maybe the chef at the Rashtrapati Bhawan was told to keep a check on consumption of raw materials from the kitchen.
His boss is now a lady!