The initial publication on 21 August 2020 of the 2019 awardees list had the name of mountaineer Narender Singh in the category of land adventure. His name in the list of awardees created controversy in the mountaineering circles in India and abroad. On 23 August, the Katmandu based daily Kantipur published the photo that Singh had submitted to the authorities in Nepal as proof of reaching Everest summit in 2016. The article explained how the photo in question was morphed. Several mountaineers pointed out the inaccuracies in the photo including oxygen mask not having a pipe, no reflections on his sunglasses, flags he carried being still despite the high winds, no headlamps on his head and him wearing a helmet which is not worn by climbers on their summit day. His team leader Naba Kumar Phukon, rescue team member Lakhpa Sherpa and senior mountaineer Debashis Biswas attested to the fact that Singh never made it to the top of Everest and had to be helped down after getting stranded at the Balcony at 8,400 m (27,600 ft). Tenzing Norgay's son Jamling Norgay took up the matter and raised the issue with Indian Mountaineering Foundation. Soon after that, the Sports Minsitry opened a probe into the claims, withholding the award on 28 August and in the list of awardees attending next day's ceremony, Singh's name was omitted. Jamling Norgay and Bachendri Pal expressed displeasure that such a person was even considered for the award in the first place. Jamling further noted that the awards should not be simply awarded to the Everest climbers, but to those who inspire other adventure seekers by scaling new peaks, exploring new routes and promoting adventure in general.