No job, athlete opens juice vend in Fazilka, puts medals on display

National-level athlete Deepak Kumar (22) sells sugarcane juice at the rear gate of the District Administrative complex these days.

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With mercury hovering around 44°C, Deepak was selling juice to people while talking to The Tribune.

A resident of border village Sabuana, he said he was left with no option but to sell juice on his “jugadu” vehicle in the absence of any job and financial assistance.

The youth has displayed dozens of his medals on his vehicle, attracting visitors who often ask him about the medals.

Deepak said he won two silver medals, one in the 6,000 m cross-country race at the national-level games held in Nagaland, organised by the Athletics Federation of India in 2022 and another in Nagaland in 2023 in 8 km cross-country race, organised by the Schools Federation of India.

Deepak has won 16 gold medals in different athletics meets, including 1500 m and 5000 m races held in the past six years. He also won five Khel Rattan Award in “Khedan Vatan Punjab Dian” meets organised by the Punjab Government.

A graduate from Guru Nanak Dev University, Deepak tried to contact several authorities to get job, but to no avail.

Deepak has also appealed to the state government to extend financial support and provide suitable jobs to the players who have worked hard to achieve various milestones and brought laurels to the state.