Vinesh Phogat slams Padma Awards jury, questions criteria of selecting the awardees

New Delhi : India's famed wrestler Vinesh Phogat expressed her disappointment on losing place in the list of awardees for the prestigious Padma Awards this year. He blamed the jury of making unfair selection and also raised questions on the criteria of selecting the winners.

The 25-year-old grappler had become the first woman to win a Gold medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, but she was not placed in the list of eight sportsmen who have been accorded the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri for their contribution in the sports.

After learning that her name has not been chosen for the awards, she expressed her feelings on the social media, questioning the credibility of the awards.

"Every year our government awards several sportspersons. This award serves as great encouragement for sports and for athletes to continue chasing excellence but is also seen that numerous times, these awards don’t honour current achievements or instances of sporting success in the recent past," Vinesh posted a screenshot on her official twitter page.

"It’s almost like the deserving get left out each time. This has become a pattern. The 2020 Awards list is no different. Who decides who shall be awarded? Are there current or former athletes in the jury? How does it even work? At the end it all just seems slightly unfair," it further stated.

Meanwhile, check out the list of awardees in 2020:

Padma Vibhushan

MC Mary Kom (Boxing)

Padma Bhushan

PV Sindhu (Badminton)

Padma Shri

Zaheer Khan (Cricket)

Oinam Bembem Devi (Football)

MP Ganesh (Hockey)

Jitu Rai (Shooting)

Tarundeep Rai (Archery)

Rani Rampal (Hockey)