India cricketer Rinku Singh has thanked Uttar Pradesh Government and chief minister Yogi Adityanath after being appointed as a Regional Sports Officer under the sports quota scheme.
Rinku took to the social and shared a video messsage thanking the authorities for the appointment and acknowledged the financial assistance of Rs 3 crore he received from the UP government.
“I thank the Uttar Pradesh government and Hon’ble Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for appointing me to the post of Regional Sports Officer,” Rinku said.
The 26-year-old could not attend the appointment letter ceremony held on Tuesday because of his commitments with his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders. However, he said he will soon visit Lucknow to collect the letter and meet the chief minister to seek his blessings.
Rinku’s appointment is part of a larger plan by the state government to offer jobs to athletes who have won medals at the international level. One of the other names on the list is Rajkumar Pal, who was part of India’s bronze medal-winning hockey team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He will be appointed as a deputy superintendent of police (DSP). Rajkumar, who is from Ghazipur, is among six athletes being honoured.
Paralympic gold medallist Praveen Kumar from Gautam Buddh Nagar will also be given the role of DSP. Meanwhile, javelin thrower Ajit Singh from Etawah, who won silver and Simran from Ghaziabad, who won bronze in the 200m event, will be appointed as district panchayat raj Officers.
Director of Sports RP Singh said that Rinku expressed his gratitude even though he could not attend the ceremony. He added that Rinku will join his duties at the sports directorate office in Lucknow once his schedule allows.
Officials also said that his role will be designed in a way that he can continue playing cricket while managing his responsibilities in the department.
Rinku has seen a rapid rise in his career over the past few years and was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad. During the tournament, he went through a difficult time as he lost his father and had to return to Aligarh for the funeral before joining the team again.
Rinku is engaged to Priya Saroj, a Member of Parliament from Machhlishahr representing the Samajwadi Party.
At the felicitation event held at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath also mentioned that Rinku was expected to attend but could not make it due to his prior commitments.
