BJD Rajya Sabha member and former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey has demanded effective implementation of the Sports quota in both private and Government sector jobs. Through a Special Mention in Rajya Sabha, Tirkey, the only tribal hockey player to represent the country in three Olympics, said though there is provision of Sports quota in Government and private sector recruitment to encourage national and international-level sports persons, these quotas are not being implemented properly.
“In many PSUs like SAIl, NTPC, MCAl, HAl, such recruitments have either been stopped or put under logjam. The case of private sector is no better. As a result, players who devote their life to the nation are left helpless and jobless,” lamented Tirkey. If this trend continues then the coming generations would think twice before choosing sports as a career, he added. Tirkey demanded the sports quota be restored with immediate effect along with appropriate guidelines. If any logjam takes place, a special recruitment should be initiated urgently for the purpose, he added.