Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR star cricketer Rinku Singh has been appointed as a Regional Sports Officer. Several other sports stars are also receiving prestigious government jobs, like Para-athlete Praveen Kumar and Olympic hockey medalist Raj Kumar Pal will both become Deputy Superintendents of Police. Additionally, para-athletes Ajit Singh and Simran will serve as District Panchayat Raj Officers, while Preeti Pal has been appointed as a Block Development Officer.
These appointments follow a 2022 government rule in Uttar Pradesh that allows international medal winners from events like the Olympics, Paralympics and Asian Games to be hired directly for government roles.
On Tuesday 24th March, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hand out the official appointment letters at the Lok Bhavan in Lucknow. Additionally, nine exceptional athletes will be honoured with the prestigious Laxman Award for men and the Rani Laxmibai Award for women.
The Laxman Award for the “General Category” includes three athletes: hockey player Uttam Singh from Ghazipur, gymnast Abhijit Kumar from Prayagraj and wrestler Jonty Kumar from Gautam Buddha Nagar. In the “Para Category,” the award will be given to para-canoeing athlete Yash Kumar from Agra and para-athletics star Praveen Kumar from Gautam Buddha Nagar.
The Rani Laxmibai Award will be given to four athletes: Prachi in athletics from Saharanpur, Tanya Chaudhary in athletics from Baghpat, Vantika Agrawal in chess from Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Pragati Kesarwani (para table-tennis) from Lucknow.
Those who win the Laxman or Rani Laxmibai awards will receive a bronze statue, a certificate of honour, and Rs 3.11 lakh in prize money.
