Sports are embedded in Haryana’s culture, with politics over sporting facilities and athletes often taking the centre stage. In this episode of Another Election Show, Newslaundry halted at a village in Kurukshetra district to speak with the athletes about the state’s sports policy. 

At a local boxing academy, coach Rajesh Kumar Rajound and national level runner Randeep Kundu highlight the challenges faced by the youth who take up professional sports, facilities in the state, and the sports policy.   

Rajound says, “About 10 years ago, Bhupendra Singh Hooda government came up with the ‘bring medals, get posts’ policy. The players would get appointments in different government departments like the police department and home ministry, under sports quota.” He adds that now the BJP state government has restricted the appointment of players under the policy to only the sports department. 

Watch.