Sachin to wait, Dhyan Chand chosen for Bharat Ratna

The Union sports ministry has chosen hockey wizard Dhyan Chand over Sachin Tendulkar as its nominee for Bharat Ratna. In a meeting on Wednesday, both personalities were discussed before the ministry chose Dhyan Chand, who inspired Indians unmatched gold rush at the Olympics. This is the first time the name of a sportsperson is being recommended for the award. The ministry had considered representations from supporters of both the greats but decided that an active sportsperson always stood a chance of earning the countrys highest honour in future. Sports minister Jitendra Singh was impressed by a delegation led by Dhyan chands son Ashok Kumar, which met him on July 12 and argued in favour of the Hockey great. Dhyan Chand, who passed away in 1979, won three gold medals at the Olympics in 1928 (Amsterdam), 1932 (Los Angeles) and 1936 (Barlin). In December 2011, the government had ignored a collective plea of 82MPs, who had backed Dhyan Chand for the award.

Solar Scam: Firoz surrenders

Hours after his anticipatory bail plea was dismissed by the kerala high court, former director of the Information and Public Relation department A Firoz, accused in a chnnection with the solar scam, surrendered at the Medical College Police station in Thiruvananthapuram. He would be produced before a court, sources said. The polic had issued a look out notice for Firoz after he went missing when his anticipatory bail application was rejected by a local court on July 2.