In the rules of Amity University, Noida which is available on Amizone, it is clearly mentioned that a sportsperson will be granted OD (official Duty or given attendance) for days spent on an event but no attendance will be given for days spent on training.

On an average a sportsperson has to spend 10 hours a day training and eating a special diet so where is the time for studying. Should sportspersons then be exempted from being graduates for taking up a government job?

While in the services (Army) there is an environment for sports, a sportsman has to do manual work like gardening and hoeing and cleaning, regardless of the fact that such activity could damage his muscular coordination in his field. In state government services and central services, there is no such criteria. There was a time when to be a constable you needed to be high school pass, to be a Sun-inspector, an inter pass and beyond that a graduate. To become a bank clerk, you needed to be an inter pass and beyond that graduate. Now you need to be a graduate for every government job.

Sports coaches will tell you that the best years of an athletes’ life are after class 10 and before graduation. However the stress of studies takes a toll on performance of sportspersons, as it does not allow a person to focus single-mindedly on sports.

In the desire to ensure Dal Roti for himself the sportsman is left confused and bewildered and India loses a gold or even a star. What about the real Paan Singh Tomar? How the system neglects sportsmen is deplorable? My apologies if I have rubbed anyone the wrong way.