BENGALURU: Top athletes are still waiting to reap the benefit of Karnataka’s announced two per cent reservation for sportspersons across departments, as employment notifications have yet to include the provision.Officials of state sports associations said the final order from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) is still awaited, delaying the rollout of the announced reservation. The delay is proving costly for hundreds of sportspersons who stand to benefit.“What we hear from Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) officials is that they have submitted all the required documents to DPAR. It’s been nearly two months since then, but the final GO is yet to come,” an association official told TOI.“Since the government announced the two per cent reservation, several notifications for government jobs – including posts for physical education teachers, assistant masters and primary and high school teachers – have been issued. Other quotas, such as ex-servicemen, persons with disabilities, women, Kannada medium and transgender persons, have been mentioned, but not the sports quota,” he added. “We request the government to issue the final notification immediately so recruitment under the sports quota can also begin before more eligible athletes lose out.“Former state kabaddi captain Gagan Gowda, 23, said he has been waiting for the past three years. “I will become ineligible for several jobs, including those in the Railways, in another two years. We are waiting for the final order so that we can apply for a state government job before the window closes,” Gagan told TOI.Former Karnataka football team captain Karthik Govind Swamy said he too waited for years before moving to Hyderabad for employment. “We helped Karnataka win the Santosh Trophy after a gap of 51 years, but none of us got government jobs. Finally, I got a job in the IT department,” Karthik said. “At least seven players from that championship-winning side are still without jobs. One of them, Sreejith Ramesh Kumar, played in seven national championships and helped Karnataka win the trophy and secure a third-place finish. He is still without a job,” he added.DYES officials, when contacted, said they were unaware of the reason for the delay at DPAR. “From our side, we have done all the needful, but we can’t comment on what is happening in another department,” department sources told TOI.The two per cent reservation had raised hopes among sportspersons who have represented Karnataka and India at national and international competitions. Still, the delay in issuing the final order is preventing them from applying for jobs under the sports quota.For athletes with limited competitive careers and age limits to contend with, every recruitment cycle matters. They now hope the government will resolve the issue and operationalise the reservation as soon as possible, before more of them lose their chance.
