Milkha Singh on Friday said Sarita Devi’s refusal to accept the bronze medal during the Asian Games ceremony in 2014 was an insult to the country and brought bad name to the nation. “Sarita’s act brought bad name to the country and she shouldn’t have behaved like that. She might have been hurt by the decision of the judges but she shouldn’t have refused to accept the medal on the podium,” he said at an athletics grassroot initiative (The Fastest Indian) organised by the Gas Authority of India limited. “If you are on the podium and standing in front of a huge crowd and doing such a shameful thing, it is just not acceptable.”
The 86-year-old winner of four Asian Gold medals has maintained that Major Dhyan Chand should have been the first recipient of the Bharat Ratna. “I always thought that if anyone in sports field deserved a Bharat Ratna, it had to be Major Dhyan Chand because he is the greatest hockey player that ever lived according to me.
“If they gave the award to Sachin Tendulkar, maybe it’s their choice but he (Dhyan Chand) also deserves it. You can ask the Sports ministry what are the reasons for not giving the award to him. I remember we used to train together in the National Stadium and the amount of hard-work and effort he used to put in cannot be seen in today's athletes,” he added.
Recently Saina Nehwal and Vijender Singh were attributed to have asked for the Padma Bhushan Award. Milkha, winner of the Padma Shri, said the players should focus on their sport and leave nominations to the respective bodies. “I believe that any sportsperson should not ask for an award. If he/she deserves the award, then it is the responsibility of the government and the Sports ministry. The athletes should think about how to bring laurels and not about their personal fame. If Saina was asking for an award, then Badminton Association of India should have forwarded her name earlier.
“Few years back I declined the Arjuna and the only reason I declined it was because it had been more than 60 years since I last ran and was that the time to get the awardIJ” he questioned.