Forced to take the legal route after being denied the honour initially, boxer Manoj Kumar will be bestowed the Arjuna Award by Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi on November 26.
Manoj, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, on Friday said that he has been informed by the sports minister to receive the award.
“I have received a confirmatory mail from Sports Ministry that the Arjuna Award will be given to me by sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal on November 26 at 5pm at a function at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi,” Manoj said.
“I have got this award after fighting with injustice made by the selection committee,” he said.
Manoj was earlier denied the Arjuna Award by the Kapil Dev-led selection committee even as another boxer Jai Bhagwan was recommended for the coveted honour.
Feeling “insulted”, Manoj approached the Sports Ministry officials, who, he said, had assured him that his name would be added to the list in a review meeting.
But after being snubbed for a second time in the review meeting, Manoj took the legal route and filed a case in the Delhi high court. He won the case and that led to the ministry accepting his nomination for the award.
The ministry, through its counsel, admitted in the court that Manoj was initially not considered for the award by the committee as they mistakenly believed that he was involved in a doping case.
