Asian Games silver medallist Sudha Singh unimpressed by UP government’s job offer
Asian Games silver medallist Sudha Singh has been offered a job of a gazetted officer by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh after her brilliant performance in Indonesia. However, the unimpressed long distance runner has termed it as a case of “better late than never”.
The 32-year-old veteran runner won a silver in women’s 3000m steeplechase in the Asian Games on Tuesday. After which, the Adityanath government announced Rs 30 lakh and gazetted officer’s job to Sudha, who hails from Rae Bareli district, about 80 km from the state capital.
However, the athlete spoke about the offering and said she should have got the job earlier considering her achievements in the past few years. She further thanked the Chief Minister but said her file was pending for the past four years. Sudha even revealed she won’t work anywhere else apart from the sports department.
“I am neither happy nor unhappy with the decision. I should have got the job earlier. My file for the job through sports quota has been there since 2014. It’s better late than never. I have won a lot of medals including a gold and silver in the Asian Games and other championships,”
“I want to thank the CM but I will only work in the Sports Department and not in any other department. I am eligible for becoming a Deputy Director in the sports department,” Sudha was quoted as saying by PTI.
On the other hand, Sudha’s brother Pravesh Singh said his sister has been through a lot of humiliation in the past few years because of not getting a job. He added that Sudha has been working with the Central Railways since 2005.
“Despite the eligibility, she had to face humiliation by the government as she was not given a job. She was hurt and is presently working with Central Railways since 2005,” Pravesh said.
In a government order of 2015, those winning medals at Olympics and Asian Games are eligible for government jobs, but Pravesh said it was not followed in Sudha’s case.
“She tried to meet the then CM Akhilesh Yadav in 2016 thrice but could not succeed. Due to this, she could not perform well in 2016 Olympics,” he added.