Lucknow: The sporting journey of 470 talented athletes took a new turn on Thursday as they formally joined the UP Police under the skilled sportsperson quota, receiving appointment letters from CM Yogi Adityanath.Selected under direct recruitment-2023, the appointees include 43 Sub-Inspectors (Civil Police), 295 Constables (Civil Police) and 132 PAC Constables. Of the total, 303 are men and 167 women.Describing the occasion as the beginning of a journey “from jersey to uniform”, Yogi said discipline, teamwork, hard work, punctuality and the ability to perform under pressure—qualities developed through sports—would help the recruits excel in police service.Calling the appointments a recognition of their talent and hard work, he urged them to continue their sporting careers and use sports to inspire young people to stay away from drugs and adopt healthy lifestyles.The CM handed appointment letters to 15 selected sportspersons, including athletes who have represented India and won medals at national and international competitions. He said the state had provisions for out-of-turn promotions for outstanding sportspersons, while international medal winners could be directly appointed as DSPs. So far, seven sportspersons have been appointed as DSPs under the policy. He said govt had provided more than Rs 200 crore in incentive money to sportspersons for their achievements.950 Sportspersons recruitedDGP Rajeev Krishna said the state had developed an effective system to provide talented athletes with opportunities and secure careers. With the latest recruitment, 950 skilled sportspersons have joined the UP Police since 2022, he said. Krishna said sports develop discipline, teamwork, leadership, patience, physical fitness and the ability to make decisions under pressure—qualities equally important in policing. He said UP Police athletes had won 1,105 medals in national, international and All India Police competitions over the past decade.The DGP said outstanding athletes were also being rewarded through out-of-turn promotions. So far, 14 promotions have been made to Inspector/PAC Dalnayak, 59 to Sub-Inspector/Platoon Commander and 440 to Head Constable in Civil Police/PAC.
