Manoj Kumar missed Arjuna Award because of mistaken identity: Sonowal

Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday said boxer Manoj Kumar did not get the Arjuna award earlier because of mistaken identity.

When asked to comment on the fact that a boxer had to go to the court for the award, Sonowal said, "It did not happen earlier because of the mistaken identity. After the intervention of the court, majority of the members of the selection committee gave their consent in favour of Manoj Kumar and that is why we have taken this decision."

Manoj, a gold medal winner in 2010 Commonwealth Games, was earlier overlooked by the Arjuna Awards Selection Committee, which mistakenly believed that he was involved in a doping case.

Manoj Kumar had initially approached the Sports Ministry when his name was omitted from the list of 15 sportspersons considered for the awards, while the name of boxer Jai Bhagwan was included.

Kumar claims that the Sports Ministry officials had assured him that his name would be added to the list during a review meeting.

But during the review meeting on August 19, the Selection Committee decided not to make any changes in the original list, forcing him to approach the court.