Chandigarh: Five internationally acclaimed players, comprising a couple, have been promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police in Punjab, officials said on Monday.
They are Commonwealth Games gold medallist shooter Avneet Sidhu, former Indian hockey skipper Rajpal Singh, Olympian discus thrower Harwant Kaur, Asian Games medallist shooter Harveen Sarao and hockey midfielder Gurbaj Singh.
They are among the 20 who were promoted as Superintendent of Police last week by the government.
Avneet Sidhu missed an opportunity to get the promotion last year as she could not complete the mandatory training owing to her sports commitments.
Her husband Rajpal Singh led the men’s hockey team to a silver medal finish in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Avneet and Rajpal tied the knot in 2013.
The other sporting couple in the state is Arjuna awardee Manjit Kaur and hockey Olympian Gurwinder Singh Chandi. They got married in 2015.
Harwant Kaur is a discus thrower and shot putter. She has represented India at three Olympic Games and has won silver medals at both Asian and Commonwealth Games.
At one point of time, she had decided to shift to Australia as she was not having a job in India.
Shooter Harveen Sarao, won team bronze in the 10m air pistol event in the Asian Championship, was also not promoted last year as the government mentioned that ‘she has not completed her practical training and Phase II training is still pending’.
Hockey midfielder Gurbaj Singh had turned out to be the most sough-after player for the Hockey India League 2017, fetching the most expensive buy tag.
Gurbaj, who was suspended for nine months by the Hockey India in August 2015 on charges of creating disharmony within the team during the Hockey World League semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium, was bought by 2015 champions Ranchi Rays for a whopping $99,000.