Para-sports coach Satyanarayana Shimoga claimed on Friday that he has been wrongly denied the Dronacharya award by the Indian government as he has not been charged in the defamation case, pending before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi, PTI reported.
Satyanarayana, who has coached 2016 Rio Paralympics gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu, has had been dropped from the list of this year’s Dronacharya awardees after several people had raised objections about his name being recommended for the award.
“I have been wrongly denied an opportunity to receive the Dronacharya award. Some people jealous of my achievements have made false allegations against my nomination for Dronacharya Award,” Satyanarayana shared.
“I am shocked to hear these media reports that my name has been struck down on the basis of this defamation case.
“This case relates to a private complaint by someone who wanted to exact revenge for ousting him from Paralympic Committee of India. Moreover, the case has not reached chargesheeting [or the] chargeframing stage and only summons were served. If I am going to be denied the Dronacharya Award on this basis, I feel it is not correct,” he added.
The case in question pertains to a complaint filed by Rajesh Tomar, the former chief of the Paralympic Committee of India. Tomar had been ousted by the PCI in 2015 for mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.
Aside of this debacle, the PCI has had also been caught between factional disputes and misappropriation of funds which has led to its de-recognition and by the International Paralympic Committee, and the Sports Ministry on two occasions in the past, including most recently in 2015.
With regard to approaching the courts to settle the matter regarding the rejection of his Dronacharya award recommendation, Satyanarayana said, “I am not the person to go to a court to get an award. I will respect the decision of the Sports Ministry. But I want to tell the world that I have done nothing wrong and I have been denied the award despite my achievements.”
However, he went on to add that he had written to sports minister Vijay Goel and Dronacharya award committee chairman Pullela Gopichand to allow him to present his side of the story, but was yet to receive a reply from them.
“I secured highest number of points on my achievements for the Dronacharya Award as a Para-athletics coach,” he said of his letter written to Goel. “I would like to request your goodself to kindly provide me an opportunity for self appraisal with supporting documents on the complaints against my nomination for Dronacharya Award.”
In his letter written to Gopichand, Satyanarayana said that the complaint filed by Tomar in the court was of private nature. The complaint was filed in order to take revenge from the then office bearers of the PCI. Further adding that his name has been dragged into the legal fracas unnecessarily Satyanarayana stated that Tomar’s intention was to harass the office bearers of the then PCI who had passed a resolution to suspend and expel him.
“The court had only issued summons under Indian Penal Code Sections 500 and 501. No notice or charge under IPC Sections 500 and 501 has been framed against me, or against other persons made as a party to the complaint,” he said of his letter written to Gopichand. “In such scenario, my name [should] be considered for Dronacharya award for the year 2017.”
