MS Dhoni's name being nominated for the Padma Bhushan award may have brought joy for his fans and received collective applause in the sports world, but it has left the son of India's first individual Olympic medallist, Khashaba Jadhav, a disgruntled man.

India's most successful cricket captain MS Dhoni was awarded Padma Shri in 2009. While, the Sports Ministry on 20th September recommended KD Jadhav's name for the prestigious Padma Shri, 33 years after his death.

As per Times of India, Ranjit Jadhav, son of late KD Jadhav, who won India its first individual bronze in wrestling at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, has long been fighting for his father to be conferred with India's second-highest civilian honor, Padma Vibhushan.

He believes cricket's popularity envelopes the nation's collective consciousness so much that meritorious claimants in other sports lag behind.

"Look cricketers enjoy the status of kings in our country. It's good that Dhoni has reached where he has from a humble beginning. But what about Khashaba Jadhav who did it against all odds at a time India had never won an individual Olympic medal," he said.

Ranjit Jadhav claims to have received assurance from Maharashtra government that the state would forward KD Jadhav's nomination for Padma Vibhushan this year.

But he fears the deadline has passed and little has been done. "Officials in higher ups have told me they have moved the file. But they refuse to show me the online nominated list. I am not sure. I don't want to give up and have sent the nomination in personal capacity.

"To me, it's a question of honoring a landmark achievement, India's first Olympic medallist and who is fully deserving," he says.

KD Jadhav was posthumously honored with the Arjuna award in 2001.