NEW DELHI, June 3: Livid at not being nominated for the Arjuna award for the second consecutive year, Indian shuttler HS Prannoy said players less accomplished than him have been recommended by the Badminton Association of India.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Tuesday recommended top doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and men�s singles player Sameer Verma for the coveted award.
Prannoy took to twitter to express his displeasure.
�#arjunaawards Same old story. Guy who has Medals in Cwg and Asian Championships not even recommended by Association. And guy who was not there on any of these major events recommended #waah #thiscountryisajoke,� Prannoy wrote.
Out of the three recommendations, Satwik-Chirag won the silver at 2018 CWG, but Sameer has never played at the prestigious tournament.
The 25-year-old from Dhar didn�t have a good run last year.
The 2016 Hong Kong Open finalist, however, was in sizzling form in 2018, winning three titles to reach a career-best ranking of World No. 11. His dazzling run also earned him a place in the BWF World Tour Finals 2018, where he reached the semifinals.
BAI said it has �diligently assessed the performances of the athletes and coaches during the last four years before sending the names to the Sports Ministry for the recommendation.� � PTI
