CHANDIGARH: Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a Congress party MLA from Punjab, has raised serious concerns about the continued neglect of sportspersons in the state and demanded immediate intervention from the Punjab Government. Addressing a gathering of national and international players at the Punjab Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh, Khaira alleged discrimination against athletes and called for a complete review of the state’s sports policy.

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.