Simranjit Kaur, the first Punjabi woman boxer to qualify for the Olympics, received a cheque of ₹5 lakh by the Punjab Government on Tuesday.
The cheque was handed over by Punjab Cabinet Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, to the boxer’s mother Rajpal Kaur in Ludhiana.
In January, Simranjit had shared her financial problems with mediapersons and said she needed the cash reward for training for the Tokyo Olympics.
Punjab chief minister (CM) Amarinder Singh had taken to Twitter and assured all the help to the Indian boxer. Moreover, cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju had thanked the media for highlighting the sportsperson’s financial condition.
Rana Gurmeet
Singh Sodhi said, “Simranjit is the first Punjabi boxer to qualify for the
Olympic Games. She is a beacon for the girls of Punjab who want to make their
future in the new sport of boxing. It is an extraordinary achievement of a daughter
from an ordinary family and every possible help would be provided by the state
government help her move her forward.”
“Punjab Government will bear the entire expenditure for her Olympic preparations,” he said.
The 24-year-old boxer is currently at the national camp in Patiala.
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 she 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 Sarita Devi. However, she improved her game to beat Devi in the Olympic qualifier trial and secured a place by claiming a silver medal in the Asia/Oceania qualifying event in Amman.
