A decade-long freeze on the sports quota recruitment in Jammu and Kashmir had left hundreds of athletes in limbo since 2014 before a vacancy notification by the Sports Council, to fill the backlog vacancies from 2014 till 2021, ignited hope.
However, the final list of athletes selected under the sports quota policy vide notification No. 02-JK (YSS) of 2026 released on June 10 earlier this month has now triggered a protest.
Several athletes alleged that lower-category non-Olympic sports benefited the most from the recruitment process. Of the five gazetted posts, four were allotted to athletes from Pencak Silat, while the remaining post went to Olympian shooter Chain Singh.
“We had five gazetted posts, of which four were given to a non-Olympic B category sport called Pencak Silat. How is this fair?” Afreen Hyder, an international taekwondo player from the union territory, questioned.
Categorisation of sports
The hierarchy laid down in the government’s own sports policy divides the disciplines into Olympic and non-Olympic categories with three subcategories A, B, C.
According to the J&K Sports Council, the categorization of sports disciplines shall be placed as category A (most popular and highly competitive games), B (popular and competitive games) and C (less popular and less competitive) under Olympic and non-Olympic charter.
“Unfortunately, the Olympic sports athletes and non-Olympic (Category A) competitive sports, they stand nowhere,” said Afreen.
“Even non-Olympic sports like Wushu, their certificate holds more value than pencak silat. And if I play a state championship, if I play a national championship, it is worth more than their international at this point because of the competition,” she further opined.
Taekwondo is an Olympic category A discipline, Wushu is a non-Olympic category A sport and Pencak Silat is a non-Olympic category B discipline as per the union territory’s official documentation.
“Even if you lose your first fight, you still come home with a medal. To earn a bronze in taekwondo nationals, we need to win a minimum of three fights,” she added, putting her arguments in perspective.
Who is being favoured?
Several athletes have also alleged that children and relatives of sports administrators have benefited from appointments and recognition in particular disciplines.
For instance, Sheikh Najmus Saqib has been appointed for the gazetted post with 82 points. He has won a bronze at the Junior World Championship in 2018 and is a bronze medalist at the 2022 Asian in Pencak Silat Championship. He happens to be the son of Sheikh Riyaz Ahmad, former administrator of Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council.
In another example, former Divisional Sports Officer Ashok Kumar’s son Varun Singh Jamwal has been appointed under quota year 2020. He has earned 30 points for a silver medal in the Pencak Silat Federation Cup in 2018.
But there’s another catch. The sports quota policy, notified in 2022, was subsequently amended on August 2, 2023 where certain eligibility conditions were relaxed.
For example, candidates seeking gazetted posts were initially required to be graduates. But was later relaxed to Class 12.
Notably, Pencak Silat athlete Sheikh Najmus Saqib’s educational qualification at the time of application was Class 12.
Apart from him, two others, shooter Chain Singh and pencak silat player Karan Chopra were also class 12 at the time of application.
Picture this: Three of five gazetted appointees were Class 12. A gazetted class refers to a highly prestigious, high-ranking entry-level managerial or officer post, which requires a minimum of an undergraduate degree as per the Govt of India.
The controversy does not end there. It has also been alleged that the list includes candidates who were never seen at the nationals and still possess national participation certificates. Read has not been able to independently verify this claim.
‘227 objections to provisional selection list’
In 2014, the sports quota recruitment drive under SRO-349 was suspended after multiple litigations, policy disputes and controversy surrounding the selection of athletes.
Under Statutory Order (S.O.) 12 of 2022, the Jammu & Kashmir government provides government jobs to 30 outstanding sportspersons every year, including five in gazetted posts and 25 in non-gazetted posts.
The department had received a whopping 227 objections from 84 applicants and non-applicants after the publication of the provisional selection list in February this year.
World No. 1 para archer Rakesh Kumar had then questioned the J&K government for overlooking him.
“The advertisement came out in 2022, and I applied for it. The union territory released a list of 222 people, which includes 5 gazetted and 217 non-gazetted posts. But my name is not there. My only question is on what basis I was not included?” the 41-year-old Rakesh had said in an exclusive conversation with this publication in February.
“I am an Olympic medallist from J&K. I am an Arjuna awardee. Even then, if I am being ignored, at least give me a valid reason, so I don’t apply again,” he had said.
The policy was meant to cover athletes who have won medals at national competitions or represented India and achieved success at international events has now turned into a major controversy.
Strong opposition from athletes across the union territory, who staged a demonstration in Jammu on Tuesday and are planning another round in Kashmir in the coming days.
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