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What’s the story?
Silver medalist at London Olympics in 2012, Vijay Kumar took to the media to share his disappointment on being ignored after consistently getting in touch with the state authorities for a government job.
“I met the Chief Minister and was assured that I will be given a job. I thought that I would get atleast a Class I job in my home state," he said.
This statement comes especially after cricketer Sushma Verma, who recently returned from a glorious performance at the women’s World Cup, accepted an offer from the Himachal Pradesh Government for the post of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) on Tuesday.
The context
The shooter has over 150 medals under his belt including gold at prestigious events like the Commonwealth Games. He has been awaiting his job offer from the Sports department ever since he retired from the army last February.
Having created quite the stir at the International Cricket arena, Sushma Verma returned to India a hero, later last month. The Indian cricket team made it all the way to the finals of the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017.
Heart of the matter
Hailing from Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh, Vijay Kumar talked about how he feels discriminated. Despite having waited for so long, he hasn’t heard back from the sports authorities and feels that all his hard work poured into the sport resulting in securing more than 150 medals, around 50 of which are from prestigious international events, have come to be meaningless.
Sushma Verma was a member of the Indian squad that represented the country in the World Cup this year. Though they lost to England by nine runs in the finals, the performance they put up in the game and throughout the series have been note-worthy.
The 24-year-old accepted the offer, along with a cheque worth 5 lakhs at the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s private residence “Holly Lodge” where she was present along with her father, Bhopal Singh.
What’s next?
While there has been no news of a statement from the authorities yet, Capt. Vijay Kumar’s open expression of disappointment should possibly lead to some action being taken to further his job appointment by the government.
As for Verma, given her record and her hard work at the field, the road only looks bright ahead.
Author’s take
While it is definitely not a matter of comparison, as both the sportspersons in question are well-deserved of the job they have sought, it definitely raises eyebrows as to why Vijay Kumar’s appointment has been put off for so long.
The government needs to be held more accountable in order to ensure that it accommodates all sportspersons and not just a few, as far as fulfilling its promises are concerned.
