Deaflympics medalist Virender Singh, popularly known as Goonga Pahalwan, lamented about not being conferred with the Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting award, on Tuesday after the country’s elite athletes were conferred with the National Sports Awards by President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi.

Virender Singh, who was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2021, took to social media and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, as he expressed his disappointment over not winning the highest sporting honour in the country. Virender Singh, who won as many as 3 Deaflympics gold medals in wrestling, is also an Arjuna Award recipient.

Virender Singh also alleged that the Haryana state government had not given him the promised cash reward of Rs 8 crore for his contribution to the sport over the years.

Notably, in 2021, Virender staged a sit-in protest at the Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi, demanding para status to deaf wrestlers in the state. During the sit-in demonstration, Virender’s brother had alleged that the Haryana government had promised to give his brother Rs 6 crore as a cash reward in 2017.

Virender is a seasoned wrestler with a decorated trophy cabinet. His three Gold medals in the Deaflympics came in 2005, 2013, and 2017. He also won a bronze medal as recently as the 2021 edition of Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil to go with the bronze he won in 2009. He has also won multiple medals in World Deaf Wrestling Championships, including a Gold in 2016.

Notably, Virender had supported the likes of Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshee Malikkh during their recent protests against newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh, who is a close aide of ex-WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

After Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri, Virender also said he would be returning his Padma Shri award as a mark of protest against the newly-elected WFI body, which was eventually suspended by the Sports Minister for being under “complete control” of its former office-bearers. The country’s top wrestlers had protested against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.

The Khel Ratna Award for 2023 went to badminton players Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chiag Shetty. The duo went on to become the first Indian pair to win Gold at the Asian Games and also reached the No. 1 rank in men’s doubles in the world badminton rankings.