JAMMU: State President, Shri Ram Sena, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajiv Mahajan on Monday said “deserving” players from Jammu region should be given “priority” in sports.
Addressing reporters here, Rajiv Mahajan said, “I am not saying that undeserving player should be included, but if there is an eligible player, then such player should be given priority.”
He was speaking at a function to facilitate a Jammu boy Pankaj Sharma (Happy), who got two gold medals in Fencing Championship for Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar in the recently concluded All India University Championship 2016-2017.
Rajiv said Pankaj Sharma also got gold medal in Inter-collegiate Fencing Championship, organised by the Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, University of Jammu and bronze medal in Junior National Fencing Championship at Billaspur in Chhattisgarh besides eleven national awards.
“Shockingly some known sportsmen of Jammu region who have earned popularity at national and international level, were ignored by the government,” he said adding that this non-serious behaviour of State Government in favour of deserving players like Pankaj Sharma compel them to play for other states.
“It’s a tragedy that deserving young players in Jammu and Kashmir have to run from pillar to post just to get selected,” he said.
Many players in the State, despite having great potential, leave the sport for similar reasons. Politics, administrative bias contribute to the dismal state of sports in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Besides a lot of talented players in the State, we time and again face defeat which is a matter of concern,” Rajiv said adding that the selection of players is totally biased.
“All selections for national level were made on the directions of certain highly influential people and deserving players who were from poor background were totally ignored,” he alleged adding that the reason behind this is selection of nears and dears by selection committee.
He asked the selection committees to apply the phenomenon of transparency and honesty in its functioning and select deserving players for any sports at the national and international level.
He also said that Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar decided to provide free education of Pankaj Sharma and Rs 30,000 cash prize for each gold medal he won for the university.
He asked State Government particularly BJP ministers to felicitate and encourage Pankaj Sharma and provide better infrastructure and financial aid to him so that he wins medals for Jammu and Kashmir State too.