5 Months Late But Simranjit Kaur Finally Gets 5 Lakhs from Punjab Goverment

Simranjit Kaur, who is the first-ever Punjabi woman boxer to have qualified for Olympics, on Tuesday received 5 lakhs that she was promised from the Punjab Governemnt. Sports Minister Rana Gurmit S Sodhi handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakhs to Rajpal Kaur, Simranjit's mother.

"I personally met her mother in Ludhiana today, and couldn't get a chance to meet Simranjit since she is currently training in a national camp in Patiala. I will also meet her soon. I have handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to Rajpal Kaur and assured her that Simranjit would get a government job as well," Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi told IANS.

"Simranjit has done a lot for the nation and especially for Punjab. We will provide all the help to her for future events," he added.

In late August, Simranjit Kaur had come to say that she hadn't yet received the cash reward promised to her, which was she said she needed for training for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 24-year-old boxer is currently at the national camp in Patiala.

Back in January, when Simranjit had shared her financial problems with mediapersons, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had immediately taken to Twitter and assured all the help to the Indian boxer. Cricketer Harbhajan Singh as well as Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju had thanked the media for highlighting Simranjit's financial condition.

Simranjit, who hails from Ludhiana's Chakar village, is the sole breadwinner of her family of five, which includes two younger brothers, elder sister and mother. Her father, who worked at a local grocery store, died in July 2018 due to a heart attack. Since then, the family is entirely dependent on what Simranjit earns from participating in international tournaments.

Simranjit, who won a 64kg World Championships bronze in Delhi in 2018, had lost the 60kg trials for 2019 Worlds to the seasoned Sarita Devi. However, she improved her game to beat Sarita in the Olympic qualifier trial and secured a quota place by claiming a silver medal in the Asia/Oceania qualifying event in Amman.

(With inputs from IANS)