Gagan Narang

New Delhi: There seems to be no end to controversies in Indian sports. Indeed, they have kept coming one after the other over the past few weeks.

It started with the unsavoury allegations of sexual harassment levelled against the national women’s hockey coach by his wards. Before that could die down, came the shocking charges of money being squandered in the name of the Commonwealth Games.

And now the government finds itself under fire from rifle shooter Gagan Nararg, one of India’s best known sportspersons of recent times. Gagan has accused the government of relying more on public and media perception of an athlete than on his or her performances in awarding the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

Narang, the world record holder in the 10-metre air rifle, is upset at being pipped by badminton star Saina Nehwal for this year’s Khel Ratna, which was announced last week.

Narang’s accusation gained credibility when sports ministry sources revealed that only four names —Narang, Ramesh Kumar (wrestling), Malathi K. Holla and Parul Parmar (both physically challenged athletes) — had been recommended by their respective federations for the nation’s highest sporting honour.

“Saina’s name was not forwarded by the Badminton Association of India (BAI). It was considered only after the government itself decided to recommend her name,” claimed a source.

When contacted in Munich, where he is currently participating in the world championships, a bitter Narang told The Telegraph: “Only on Saturday, I won a bronze here to become the first Indian shooter to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. I have been regularly winning medals at international competitions, but it seems to have made little impact on the people who decide the awards.

“For the past three years, my name has been coming up for consideration and every time I find myself left out,” Narang said. “And since Khel Ratna is awarded on the basis of one’s performance over a given year, all my good performances in the past three seasons have gone to waste,” said one of India’s brightest medal prospect at the London Olympics.

A specialist in the 10-m air rifle, considered the most competitive event, Narang had won four gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He also has gold medals at the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 World Cup final in China.

When asked, a sports ministry official said that the ace shooter was creating an unnecessary controversy.

“The independent awards committee had some legend of Indian sports as its members. Do you mean to say people like PT Usha, Leander Paes, Aparna Popat, Karnam Malleswari, Limba Ram, Mohammed Habib or Somaya acted in a biased manner?” he asked.