Questioning the Union Sports Ministry’s decision of making all the Khelo India medallists eligible for government jobs, Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar expressed his apprehension, citing, that this policy might encourage athletes to resort to "unfair means" as it prioritizes single achievements over constant performance.
On Wednesday, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur revealed that medalists from the Khelo India Games, including the Youth, University, Para, and Winter Games, would now qualify for government employment based on revised criteria.
"If we want to be a sporting superpower we can't normalize giving out sports quota jobs to youth/junior athletes. Needs to be criteria eg: 3 years of consistent medals at nationals or 5 years of being in top 8 nationally etc.," he wrote on 'X' in a series of posts.
"Incentive to resort to unfair means is really high when u have a govt job at hand and all u have to do is (sic) medal once at age group level nationally. We need to reward consistency not spikes in performance," said the national record holder.
Shankar, who won a high jump bronze in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a decathlon silver in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, was not amused with the decision but acknowledged that his views can be considered an "unpopular opinion".
He, however, did not specify the exact nature of the unfair means that aspirants may resort to. The government has said that the move is aimed at nurturing talent at the grassroots level and turning sports into a lucrative and viable career option.
Shankar said Khelo India is a "wonderful" initiative but giving job opportunities does not fit with what it seeks to achieve.
"Khelo India is a wonderful opportunity to grow awareness, scout talent, develop interest, and create a sporting ecosystem, etc etc. ie: True grassroots development which is a welcome addition! Jobs don't fit in this conversation..."
"We have plenty (of) opportunities and more are always welcome. Need to streamline them to make each count towards the ultimate goal which is to have a broad pool of athletes who can potentially represent India in any event/sport.
"Real scope lies in finding synchrony between bodies organising school national, AIUni games, khelo India, Jr nationals, CBSE nationals, KVS nationals, u14-16 state level, etc…This will help streamline talent by recognising each performance appropriately."
In the previous month, Tejaswin Shankar's plea for financial aid was sanctioned by the Sports Ministry's Mission Olympic Cell (MOC). This assistance aims to support his participation in continental tour events across Europe, crucial for accumulating points towards his qualification for the Paris Olympics in the high jump.
His itinerary includes the high jump Gala Elmos in Belgium, categorized as a D-level event, followed by the International Athletic Meet, Hvezdy Nehvizdy in the Czech Republic, categorized as a B-level event.
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