Bhaichung Bhutia, Mary Kom, Anjum Chopra form 12-member selection panel for national awards
Bhaichung Bhutia, Mary Kom and Anjum Chopra have been included in the 12-member selection panel for national sports awards to be given to deserving candidates. The awards will be given away at the end of this month on the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
As per reports in The Hindu, the national sports awards for athletes and coaches this year will be decided by a 12-member panel which boasts the likes of six-time world champion M C Mary Kom and former Indian football skipper Bhaichung Bhutia.
The national awards will be given away on August 29, which is also the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
“This year we are trying out a new idea of one selection committee for all the awards. We feel too many committees are unnecessary as they only make things difficult and create controversies,” a Sports Ministry source told PTI.
The 12-member committee is headed by Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd) Mukundakam Sharma and comprises Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Jhulaniya, Sports Authority of India Director General Sandeep Pradhan, Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) CEO Commander Rajesh Rajagopalan, Mary Kom, Bhutia, ex-women’s cricket team captain Anjum Chopra, celebrated former long-jumper Anju Bobby George and table tennis coach Kamlesh Mehta among others.