Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday honored Indian Women’s team wicket-keeper Sushma Verma with a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs and also offered a job of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) for her exploits in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.
CM Virbhadra Singh lauded Sushma for bringing glory to the state and said that it was the duty of the state government to honor and encourage such talent who achieves in the field of sports. Sushma was a part of the Indian team that lost to England by nine runs in the Women’s World Cup final in England.
However, the girls were rewarded and cheered for the prolific run throughout the world event. Hailing from village Himri in Shimla, Sushma said she was grateful to the CM for giving her cash prize and offering her the job of DSP. She said that she always wanted to serve in the police department and this opportunity has come to her as a gift from the CM.
Sided by her father Bhopal Singh, Sushma Verma walked up to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s private residence “Holly Lodge” with a bunch of flowers and accepted the offer for the post of DSP. “After fulfilling my dream as a woman cricketer of international ranking, my second dream of joining the police has come true. I really feel privileged and honored by the state government’s offer,” she said.
But everything wasn’t well around the sporting circuit. Captain Vijay Kumar, an Olympic silver medalist in 2012, expressed his disappointment on being ignored by the state government. Despite achieving around 50 medals in International events and a tally of around 150 medals overall, he was not given any encouragement from the authorities.
Kumar retired from the army in February this year, and since then he has been waiting for a response from the Sports department. “I am shocked and feel sad as how all medals and confers which came to me, have become meaningless in my own state. I feel discriminated,” says Capt Vijay Kumar who hails from Hamirpur district.
Director General of Police Somesh Goyal was also present at Holly Lodge when she was invited. Chief Minister’s son Vikramaditya Singh will soon be contesting from Shimla (Rural), as the CM has already taken a decision to launch him in the upcoming election. With an eye on the polls, Vikramaditya decided to accommodate Sushma in the government.
The wicketkeeper-batter has represented India in 29 ODIs, scoring 64 runs, with a best of 33. She also has 31 catches and 36 stumpings to her credit. Before that, she played for the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association. Under her captaincy, the Himachal team were the runners-up at the Under-19 All-India women’s tournament in 2011. She is the first cricketer from Himachal Pradesh to represent India in international cricket.
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