The Delhi High Court on Thursday requested that the Sports Ministry’s selection committee give Yogesh Kathuniya, a two-time Paralympic winner, another chance to win the Khel Ratna Award.

After failing to get a nomination for the Khel Ratna Award, the para-discus thrower, who took home silver in the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics, petitioned the Delhi High Court.

The selection committee was directed by a bench led by Justice Sachin Datta to reexamine Kathuniya’s qualifications and make a determination.

The Justice Datta-led Bench also said that actions would be made to award Kathuniya the Khel Ratna Award if he is determined to be eligible.

On social media, the 27-year-old voiced his indignation and questioned the standards used to give sportsmen the Khel Ratna.

The lack of acknowledgment for his accomplishments baffles Kathuniya, who has won six medals at the international level so far, including two silver at the Paralympics, two silver and a bronze at the Para-athletics World Championships, and a silver at the Asian Para Games.

“I wanted to let you know that my name was not on the list of honors when I looked at it. As you can see, many persons who had Khel Ratna in the past have less points. For two to three years, I have been filling consistently. I have three World Championship medals, one Asian Games medal, and one each from the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics. As a result, my scores are also quite high,” he had said in a video that was shared on the social networking site X.

President Ram Nath Kovind presented Kathuniya with the Arjuna Award in November 2021, and he asked the Sports Ministry to explain why they chose to ignore him.

“The Sports Ministry is involved, but they haven’t contacted me yet. It is blatantly biased; players with strong public relations win. They ignore players like us.

For an athlete who has dedicated eight years of his life to the nation, this kind of behavior is discouraging. I’m representing India even if I’m just playing for myself.

On December 28, Kathuniya told IANS, “India will lose if I lose, and India will win if I win.”

“I won’t wait until the next year to bring a lawsuit in the High Court. He had added, “I want a written response explaining why I’m not receiving it, even though I have the highest aggregate marks.”