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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cDue 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,\u201d Khaira said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI used to play fencing and even switched to curling and MMA, but now I don\u2019t 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\u2019t see a future in sports. Haryana, in comparison, is doing far better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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\u2019s pending prize money of \u20b975 lakh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI used to play fencing and even switched to curling and MMA, but now I don\u2019t 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\u2019t see a future in sports. Haryana, in comparison, is doing far better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Khaira assured the gathered athletes that he would raise their concerns in the assembly and push the Punjab Government to take concrete steps in honouring and supporting the state\u2019s sportspersons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n