No end in sight to volleyball star Tom Joseph's misery as Arjuna award remains elusive

Tom Joseph(L)

Picture this: a man has dedicated most of his life to a ‘backward’ sport (read anything other than cricket) and relentlessly puts himself through the rigours of trying to make it big. And yet, when it comes to receiving recognition for his efforts, he literally has to beg for it. Sounds familiar?

Meet Tom Joseph, the face of Indian volleyball and a lynchpin in the sport for the past 15 years, who was recently dropped from the list of Arjuna awardees.

As if ‘applying’ for an award wasn’t demeaning enough, not being considered for the honour even after applying eight years in a row is an even bigger insult.

Joseph’s services have been recorded by every newspaper available on the stands, and his achievements are far greater than those of many of the poster boys of Indian cricket who were recently feted by the sports ministry with the prestigious Arjuna award.

“I have applied for the award for the past eight years and every time they (selection committee) remove my name at the last minute,” expressed a disheartened Joseph who spoke to Sportskeeda in a telephonic interview.

How odd is it that an athlete has to apply for an award that is a mark of recognition, of ‘honour’ for his achievements? Shouldn’t the jury do its own homework to find out who did well enough the previous year to deserve an award? If Joseph is hoping for the process to change, he’s in for a disappointment. Nisha Millet, a former Olympic-level swimmer who was on the Arjuna awards panel in the year 2011 and the Dronacharya awards panel in 2008-09, justified the ‘application’ practice in a chat with this Sportskeeda correspondent:

“There are so many sports and honestly way too many athletes competing. My only concern is that all applications come through the federation. Now if a deserving candidate has an on-going tussle with the federation, then they might not even forward his/ her application to the ministry. The federations are corrupt and there is every possibility of them blocking athletes from getting their dues.”

It seems like there’s no place to run for Indian athletes.

Joseph is from Kerala and his maiden appearance in the sport came way back in 1999, when he was selected as a member of the national team that went on to win gold at the SAF Games in Kathmandu. He has led the national team in numerous international tournaments including the Rashid International Volleyball Tournament in Dubai where the team won a gold medal in 2000.

Joseph also featured in the medal-winning outings at the 2004 and 2006 SAF Games. Although he was dropped from the national team in 2007, he came back strongly at the 2009 World Cup qualifying round in Tehran. His form failed to remain consistent, though, which led to him being dropped again later that year. But Joseph came back with a vengeance yet again, being named the best player in the 2011 Senior Nationals at Raipur, consequently ensuring his participation in the country’s first ever Olympic qualification tourney in Germany, in June 2012.

To this day, coaches and players from opponent countries never fail to acknowledge his performance after every game he plays for India, irrespective of whether he is on the winning side or the losing one.

Joseph’s stupendous talent and proven stature as a team player earned him respect at a very early age, but a national award has always remained elusive.