Press Trust of India
Bangalore, August 17: Disappointed at the exclusion of Sourav Kothari and Chitra Magimairaj from the Arjuna Awards list, ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani stated Monday the central government is discriminating and not giving due recognition to non-Olympic sportspersons in the country.
“We are only looking at the Olympics and Asian Games as be all and end all sports, and measuring our sporting excellence just based on our performances in Olympics. This is not fair,” he told reporters here after he was felicitated by the Karnataka Snooker and Billiards Association for winning his 13th World Championship title in Karachi.
The ace cueist was concerned about the plight of the sport in the country and urged the government to implement policies without discriminating Olympics and non-Olympics sportspersons in terms of recognising their achievements.
“I don’t know what is really happening when it comes to decision making but someone really needs to look at these things seriously,” he said.
Advani said that the government should realise that the cueists are as deserving as Olympians and Asiad players. “If policies are made for the development of sports I think it’s high time the government realises that we (cueists) also achieve as much as those sportspersons competing in Olympics and Asiad,” he said.
The ace cueist also felt that the cue coaches and trainers are also not given their due for creating world champions over the years. “It is disappointing that our trainers and coaches do not get Dronacharya awards just because they are not participating in Olympics,” he said. “Also it is sad that the SAI India cuts half of the total funds allocated for cue sports.”