Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that the former hockey player Paramjeet, who currently works as a palledar (labourer), will be given a job by the state government as a coach in the sports department.

Mann posted a video of his meeting with 30-year-old Paramjeet, who he claimed works as a ‘palledar’ at Faridkot mandi (grain market), doing labour that involves loading and unloading sacks of rice and wheat from lorries.

During his interaction, Mann said that Paramjeet will be recruited as a hockey coach in the Sports Department, and soon formalities in this regard will be completed. On being asked whether the previous government took note of his plight, the former-hockey player replied, “'No, did not get any response'.”

The Chief Minister said that it is our duty to respect the players. Paramjeet also told the Chief Minister that he wants to make his son a hockey player but it seems impossible given his weak financial condition.

“'You will get a good working environment,” Mann told him while adding, “we have to make Punjab and country number one in sports...Hockey is our traditional game and Punjab is known as hockey nursery,” he said.

Earlier, he was part of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Punjab team and won medals in many hockey tournaments, Paramjeet said. However, a few years ago, he suffered an injury in his left hand which kept him away from the game for a long time and affected his hockey career. Because of his injury, he started working as a “palledar” a few years ago.