Kollam: It was in 2013 that former international sprinter P Anil Kumar applied for a job under sports quota in the Kerala Police Department. And now, seven years after submitting the application, he received a response from the authorities which said he had crossed the age limit for the appointment and thereby had become ineligible to apply!

Specifying the reason for rejecting his application, the department said Anil Kumar, now 41, was 34 years old at the time of submission of application and as per the stipulated eligibility criteria for recruitment under sports quota, the upper age limit is 25. 

The letter further said that since no posts of athletic trainer/coach were lying vacant, the department was in no position to offer him employment.

"In the past, the state government had awarded jobs under sports quota to several sportspersons via direct recruitment. So I was also hoping to get a favourable response from the authorities. Unfortunately, they paid no heed," said a visibly upset Anil Kumar. 

The champion sprinter, who held the 100 metres national record of 10.30 seconds for 11 years between 2005 and 2016, has also run the 200 metres in 20.73 seconds - another national record which was previously owned by the legendary Milkha Singh for 39 long years. 

A native of Haripad in Alappuzha district, Anil Kumar has won several medals at the South Asian Games and the Asian Athletics Championship. In 2000, he went on to represent the country at the Sydney Olympics. 

In fact, during his career spanning 12 years between 1996 to 2008, Anil had little competition in India. It is evident from the fact that he had rewritten his own records 22 times during this period.  

However, despite all these achievements, the country's sporting establishment has not duly recognised his outstanding contributions. "It is really frustrating and disappointing that I have never been considered for any major sports honours such as the Dhyan Chand Award," he said.

The only notable recognition that came his way was the President's medal for distinguished service that he received during his stint with the Indian Army.

After retiring from competitive athletics, Anil Kumar has been serving as a trainer at the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) centre at Kollam for the past seven years.