What More Do I Need to Do to Win Arjuna Award, Olympian Sakshi Malik Asks in Letter to PM, Rijiju

Wrestler Sakshi Malik seemed to be hurt by the exclusion from the Arjuna awards list and requested to be honoured with it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju in a short letter on Twitter on Saturday.

Sakshi, who won bronze at the Rio Olympics, is a Khel Ratna awardee but her name was recommended for Arjuna award this year. She was omitted from the final list with the reasoning that she had already been bestowed with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, which is the highest of the national sports awards.

However, Sakshi does not seem to be satisfied by the explanation and asked Modi and Rijiju what more she needed to do in order to get an Arjuna award next to her name.

"Manniye Pradhanmantri @narendramodi ji aur manniye khel mantri @KirenRijiju ji. Mujhe Khel Ratna se sammanit kiya gaya hai, mujhe is baat ka garv hai. Har khiladi ka sapna hota hai ki woh saare puraskaar apne naam kare. (Respected Prime Minister @narendramodi and respected Sports Minister @KirenRijiju. I have been honoured by the Khel Ratna and I am proud of it. Every sportsperson dreams of winning all the awards)," Sakshi wrote on social media.

"Khiladi iske liye apni jaan ki bazi lagata hai. Mera bhi sapna hai ki mere naam ke aage Arjuna puraskar vijeta lage. Main aisa aur konsa padak desh ke liye lekar aaun ki mujhe Arjuna puraskar se sammanit kiya jaaye. Ya is kushti jeevan me mujhe kabhi ye puraskar jeetne ka saubhagya hi nahi mile ga? (A sportsperson puts her life at risk for it. I also dream of seeing Arjuna award winner against my name. What more medal do I get for the country that I be honoured with the Arjuna award. Or in this wrestling life, I would never have the good luck of winning this award?" Sakshi further added.

Sakshi was one of the only medallists for India at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2017, she was also awarded with Padma Shri, which is the fourth highest civilian award in India.

Post the Olympics in 2017, Sakshi won gold at the Commonwealth Championships in Johannesburg and a silver at the Asian Chmpionships in New Delhi. Both in the Asian Championships of 2018 and 2019, Sakshi managed a bronze. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast as well, Sakshi bagged a bronze medal.