H.N. Girisha, the paralympian, who secured a silver medal in high jump in the London Paralympics in 2012, on Wednesday moved the Karnataka High Court questioning selection of tennis player Sania Mirza for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for 2015.
Justice A.S. Bopanna, before whom the petition came up for hearing, said the award being given to Ms. Mirza would be subject to the result of Mr. Girisha’s petition. The High Court did not stay the award presentation ceremony to be held during the Sports Day celebrations on August 29.
In his petition, 27-year-old Girisha contended that he is ranked over and above Ms. Mirza and all other nominees, since he secured 90 points/marks for the medals won by him during the merit computation period between January 1, 2011 and December 21, 2014.
“There was no one else in the entire country who had more merit for the computation period,” Mr. Girisha claimed. He had 70 marks for silver medal in London Paralympics-2012 and 20 marks for bronze medal in Asian Games-2014.
He claimed that the selection committee, headed by Justice V.K. Bali, a former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, recommended Ms. Mirza for the award though she stood much below to the petitioner in terms of merit.
Claiming that Ms. Mirza “had not got any medals during the assessment period”, it was stated in the petition that medals she had secured were in open tournaments, along with players from other countries, and hence they could not be considered for marks. Even if marks could be allotted, Ms. Mirza must have secured less marks than him, the petitioner claimed.
Mr. Girisha has claimed that Sania Mirza does not meet the government’s criteria for awarding sportspersons with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
Explaining his stance, the high jumper said: “As per government criteria, I have achieved more in the specified timeframe (2011-14) than Sania. I won a silver in the 2012 London Paralympics and bronze in the 2014 Para Asian Games, while Sania won only a mixed doubles gold and a women’s doubles bronze in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. I have won my medals in individual competition, which earns me more points than her.”
Mr. Girisha said the tennis player’s exploits on the professional tour — including her women’s doubles title at Wimbledon this year — cannot be considered.
