Kottayam: Recently, the Madhya Pradesh government announced that players from the state winning medals at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games will be appointed as deputy superintendent of police and deputy collector. The Punjab government has also promised the local players who have qualified for the continental event a cash incentive of Rs 8 lakh each for undergoing advanced training.
While many other states are making it a point to look after their sportspersons, the situation in Kerala is not very encouraging. The Kerala government had promised jobs to athletes P U Chitra, V K Vismaya, Neena Pinto, P Kunhu Muhammed and Muhammed Anas after they won medals at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Five years have passed since, but the government has failed to keep its promise so far.
During a felicitation ceremony, the state government announced that those who were employed in other states would be awarded jobs under sports quota in Kerala. After the athletes submitted their applications through respective district collectors, the General Administration Department sanctioned the creation of the post of 'sports coordinators' under the General Education Department to recruit them. However, the file pertaining to the job offer has since been stuck in the corridors of governance.
They have been knocking on the doors of the authorities concerned, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
While Vismaya has been running from pillar to post for a government job, her teammates from other states have landed top jobs in various government departments. Hima Das, a member of the gold medal-winning 4x400 metre relay team at the 2018 Asian Games, is currently serving as a deputy superintendent of Assam Police. Another member of the team, Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad, is a deputy superintendent with Gujarat Police, while M R Poovamma is working as a senior officer at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Sprinter Dutee Chand, who won two silver medals in Jakarta, is a gazetted rank officer with the Odisha Mining Corporation. Triple jumper Arpinder Singh also secured a job with the ONGC under sports quota after winning a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games.