Arjuna at last for para shuttler Raj Kumar

BENGALURU: Two years after he was denied the Arjuna Award by the selection committee, para badminton champion Raj Kumar will be bestowed with the honour by sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Wednesday.
The ministry's decision to honour Kumar follows the Delhi High Court verdict which ruled in the player's favour. "Justice has been finally done to him though the honour comes a bit late. The award is being given separately tomorrow morning as this was from the 2015-16 list," sources told TOI.
They said the court's verdict came a few weeks back and the ministry then decided to honour the champion. "Kumar got a communication from the ministry informing him that he will be presented with the award on September 19. The athlete, together with his close friends, have now reached Delhi to receive the prestigious award," they added.
Kumar, who hails from Punjab, moved the court after the selection committee ignored his credentials. Kumar contended that he had a score of 72.5 out of 80 while the award was given to another para athlete who only had a score of 50 out of 80.
At the 2015 BWF Para Badminton World Championships in Buckinghamshire, England, India had 11 medals including four gold medals. Raj Kumar and Parul D Parmar won the gold in mixed doubles category.