Another first for Khel Ratna Narang

NEW DELHI: Gagan Narang has had lot of firsts in his career, but the honour of leading the 20 athletes for the National Sports Awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday was something special. The ace shooter was accorded the nation's highest porting honour - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna - while 19 athletes were conferred the Arjuna Award. The 28-year-old shooter was also the first Indian to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
"I have had many firsts in my life. This award has been a long time coming but that doesn't take any sheen off the joy I am feeling. Qualifying first for Olympics is great but it doesn't guarantee anything because I even qualified first for the 2008 Beijing Olympics," Narang told TOI after receiving the award from President Pratibha Patil.
The number of athletes receiving the Arjuna Award this year went up substantially keeping in mind the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games last year. Out of the 19 Arjuna awardees only tennis star Somdev Devvarman, cricketer Zaheer Khan, gymnast Ashish Kumar and discus thrower Vikas Gowda failed to turn up for the function.
Narang, who brought home a haul of four gold medals at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last year, has been waiting for this award for long time but his next goal is the Olympics. "I don't think there is any extra pressure on me since I have qualified first for it. Everyone who goes to the Olympics, goes there with the sole aim of winning a medal. If everything falls into place, I think I will be able to bring back a medal," the 28-year-old shooter, who was accompanied by his parents, said.
Arjuna awardee Suranjoy Singh, though, is still concerned about qualifying for the Olympics. The flyweight boxer will get the opportunity at the World Championships in Baku next month. "I don't fret over awards too much. If I keep performing they will keep coming. The year started off slowly for me but I managed to run into some form at the World Millitary Games. Now my first target will be to reach the quarterfinals in Baku and book my Olympics berth," Suranjoy said.
The boxer's cousin, though, was busy getting autographs from footballer Sunil Chhetri. With Bhaichung Bhutia calling it quits last week, striker Chhetri is now one of the biggest names in Indian football.
"Arjuna Award is a great motivation for any sportsperson. Now I need to build on this success. Bhaichung was a superstar in the team, it'll be very difficult to take his place. We'll be meeting sometime soon to decide on the Indian team's calendar. It is always good to have a clear idea about the schedule so that we can work it out with our clubs," Chhetri said.
Tinge of disappointment for Jwala
On a day when every athlete was sporting a big smile, shuttler Jwala Gutta had her grievances. Gutta, with doubles partner Ashwini Ponappa, brought home a World Championships medal after 28 years.
"Why did we have to wait 28 years to win a medal? Even after all my success in the Commonwealth Games as well as the World Championships, I am yet to get any sponsors. If I had some sponsors, I would definitely like to hire my own personal coach, possibly from Indonesia or Malaysia," Gutta said.
"I hope the Arjuna award and the medals will bring more corporate sponsors into badminton," she added.