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Asian Games 2018: Upset with state govt, Ajnala woman hockey player says will play for Haryana in future
If the Punjab government fails to recognise my contribution, I will play for Haryana in future, Gurjit Kaur says.
“The Punjab government did not even bother to congratulate me,” says the 22-year-old Gurjit Kaur, who played for the Indian’s women hockey team in the recent Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia and clinched a silver medal.
Ajnala resident, Kaur who is working with the Indian Railways in Allahabad, is upset with the Punjab government’s sports policy.
“No MLA or minister or any senior representative of the state government felicitated me since I came back,” she said.
Gurjit was among the 18 players in the national hockey team which made it to finals of the games in 20 years, outlasting three-time champions China by 1-0 in a fiercely-contested battle in Jakarta.
Gurjit 's strike from a penalty corner in the 52nd minute made the difference in the match.
“I have been interested in sports since I was a child. I started playing hockey in 2006, when I was in Class 6 at Government Senior Secondary School Kairon in Tarn Taran. I won several medals at state and national-level,” she says.
“I worked really hard to get selected in the Indian team and I am the only one from Punjab,” she says adding that the other players from Haryana, Orissa are being felicitated by their respective state governments.
BA graduate from Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, Gurjit says, “It was our team’s dream to win a gold medal and we reached the finals also.”
“Haryana government is giving ₹1.5 crore, besides giving government jobs,” she says adding, “And I have been waiting for an announcement from the state government.
“If the Punjab government fails to recognise my contribution, I will play for Haryana in future,” she says.
Gurjit’s father Satnam Singh, who is a farmer, says, “On one side, Punjab government wants that the state players should perform well internationally but when it comes to felicitation, the government never pays any head.”
My daughter has been working in Allahabad as the state government did not even acknowledge her let alone giving her a job here, he says.
Gurjit’s mother Pardeep Kaur said, “The state government should give benefits to my daughter so that her confidence gets a boost.”
Deputy commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said, “The government will definitely honour all those who have clinched medals in the Asian Games.”
Triple jumper Arpinder Singh who clinched a gold medal in men’s triple jump event at the Asian Games has been living with her sister Jagroop Kaur and her husband Vikas of Bhatgoan village in Haryana. Arpinder belongs to Harsha Chhina village of Ajnala tehsil in Amritsar.
Upon his return after winning the gold, Arpinder had said he shifted to Sonepat when he did not get the due honour even after winning a bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
