Got raw deal from MP govt in Vikram Award: Athlete

International walker Maniram Patel has accused the Madhya Pradesh government of not just ignoring him for the Vikram Award, but also refusing to acknowledge his talent.

Updated on: Sep 3, 2015, 22:12:30 IST

Hindustan Times | By Shruti Tomar, Bhopal

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International walker Maniram Patel has accused the Madhya Pradesh government of not just ignoring him for the Vikram Award, but also refusing to acknowledge his talent.

Maniram Patel has accused the MP government of not just ignoring him for the Vikram Award, but also refusing to acknowledge his talent.

“I bagged medal for the state. I represented the country in several international events. But the sports department showed biased attitude towards me and sidelined my hard work,” said Patel, who has been working hard in the game for the past eight years. The Vikram Award, carrying a cash reward of Rs 20,000, is conferred to a senior sportsperson.

Maniram, who is currently being trained at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Bhopal, had bagged a silver medal in the National Games held at Ranchi in 2011. He had also qualified in level-B of the London Olympics and won five gold medals in the senior national athletics championship.

Disappointed with the “step-motherly” behaviour of the sports department, Patel is planning to leave his home state.

“After two factions in the state athletics association, I couldn’t represent MP in the senior national athletics championship. Now, this partiality is compelling me to leave the state,” he said.

Athletics Federation of India (AFI) senior joint-secretary Mumtaz Khan said Patel was “a deserving player” for the award.

However, director sports Upendra Jain said, “The name of the candidates are decided by a committee having experts such as former hockey Olympian Ashok Dhyan Chand and international shooter Mansher Singh. Maniram is taking the matter wrongly. If he really feels that injustice happened to him, he can move to the court.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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