Key Points

He highlighted that despite the Punjab Sports Policy providing for a 3% reservation in government jobs for sportspersons, the quota has remained non-functional since 2016.

“Due to a pause in this policy, players who have brought laurels to the state are now forced to take up odd jobs. One girl runs a tea stall in Amritsar, and a para-athletics gold medallist repairs cycles for a living. If we continue to ignore sports, the youth will drift toward drugs. I appeal to the state government to enforce the 3% quota in all departments and provide respectable positions to those who have won awards,” Khaira said.

Among the athletes who shared their struggles was Parneet Kaur, a former fencing and mixed martial arts player from Amritsar. Once a promising athlete at the state and national levels, she was forced to give up her sporting career due to the lack of financial support and now runs a tea stall to make ends meet.

“I used to play fencing and even switched to curling and MMA, but now I don’t have any platform left. I earn barely a hundred rupees a day. It feels like a mistake to have played for Punjab. Grounds are being upgraded, but youth don’t see a future in sports. Haryana, in comparison, is doing far better,” she said.

Harjit Singh, a para-athlete from Faridkot who won a gold medal in football in Germany, now works at a cycle repair shop. Represented by his brother Harpreet Singh, the family appealed for the release of Harjit’s pending prize money of ₹75 lakh.

“He was also approached by Haryana to play for them. We had a meeting with the Punjab Government and were promised support, but nothing has come through,” said Harpreet.

Khaira assured the gathered athletes that he would raise their concerns in the assembly and push the Punjab Government to take concrete steps in honouring and supporting the state’s sportspersons.

- IANS