National hockey player commits suicide due to poverty

Government should do more to stop such incidents from recurring in the future

Rajwinder Kaur, a 20-year-old hockey player from Sangrur in Punjab, ended her life by coming under a train on Wednesday. She took the extreme step after failing to pay the fees for the second year of her BA (Bachelor of Arts) course.

Her father Surinder Singh said, "She wanted to get admission in BA second year, but the economic condition of the family was very bad and we could not arrange admission fee for her. She got upset, following which she took the extreme step."

On August 5, Rajwinder went out of her home and did not return. The family got to know of the incident on the next day, when her body was discovered in two pieces at Nilowal crossing by the Government railway police.

Rajwinder had participated in the Junior National Hockey Championship as a representative of Punjab, and she had also taken part in the state championships as many as four times.

Surinder was critical of the government’s negligence towards athletes. He said, “Rajvinder was a very talented girl, she was also good in studies and wanted to become a police officer. She started playing hockey in her childhood. At the age of 10, she won her first medal in a school tournament,” he said, adding, “I think, my poverty and the government’s negligence were equally responsible for her death.”

Rajvinder’s family also accused the government of neglecting girl athletes.