Dipa, Jitu cleared for Khel Ratna by selection panel

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) Woman gymnast Dipa Karmakar, whocreated history by entering the vault final at the RioOlympics before finishing fourth, and ace shooter Jitu Raiwere today recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Khel RatnaAward by the selection panel appointed by the Sports Ministry. Dipa got the nod of the 12-member committee, which methere today, on the basis of her stupendous performance in Rioalthough the deadline for sending in the recommendation to theSports Ministry was already over. The 23-year-old Tripura-born gymnast became an overnightsensation after she finished fourth in the women’s vault finalon August 14, missing the the bronze by a mere 0.150 points. She had won bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Gamesin Glasgow. Jitu, on the other hand, was ranked third in the world inthe men’s 10m air pistol. He was one of two Indian shooters tomake the final of their respective events in Rio, the otherbeing Abhinav Bindra. The 28-year-old Rai entered the final of the men’s 10mair pistol before ending up eighth but could not advance tothe same stage in the 50m pistol, his pet event, in the RioGames. This year, Rai has won the silver medal in the 10m airpistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan and thegold medal at the ISSF World Cup in Bangkok in 50m pistol. Hewas the first shooter to qualify for Rio Games after winning asilver medal at the World Championships in Spain in 2014. Any sportsperson who wins a medal in their sport in theremaining days of the ongoing Rio Olympics will be includedamong those recommended for Khel Ratna, according to sources. An Olympic medal has also been treated at par with medalsin the World Championships. Indian Test cricket captain Virat Kohli’s name was alsodiscussed but the likes of Dipa and Jitu were preferred sincethis is an Olympic year, the sources said. Kohli also missed out because the government wants tokeep a few slots open in case the likes of shuttler P VSindhu, who has reached the semifinals in the Rio Games, winsa medal. Rajiv Khel Ratna is given to the sportsperson who hasproduced spectacular and outstanding performance in the lastfour years and it carries a cash amount of Rs 7.5 lakh. The Khel Ratna winner (s) will receive the award fromPresident Pranab Mukherjee on National Sports Day on August29. Woman tennis star Sania Mirza is the last recipient ofthe award in 2015. PTI KHS AH PDS SSRSSR