Gurgaon: Haryana govt has amended its sports gradation certificate policy to restore recognition of Haryana State Games, making medal winners eligible for Group-D govt jobs under the sports quota. The amendment, notified in the official gazette on June 26, takes effect retroactively from Nov 1, 2025.The revised policy recognises the state games organised by Haryana Olympic Association. As a result, all 2,662 medal winners from the 27th Haryana State Games, held from Nov 2 to 8, 2025, will receive sports gradation certificates, making them eligible for recruitment under the sports quota.The games, revived after a gap of 13 years, witnessed participation from around 8,500 athletes across 24 disciplines. According to the president of Haryana Olympic Association, Meenu Beniwal, the amendment reverses a decision taken in 2018, when the state games were removed from the gradation policy because the event had not been held since 2012. “Political rivalries had disrupted the functioning of the association, resulting in the suspension of the annual games after their 26th edition in 2012,” Beniwal said.Beniwal said this 13-year hiatus affected employment opportunities in the state govt for athletes, forcing many to join central services such as the railways and Air Force or represent other states. “It often happened that teams from Jharkhand or Andhra Pradesh would be competing against Haryana, and both teams would largely comprise players from Haryana who had migrated for employment opportunities,” Beniwal said.To clear the backlog created during the period when the games were not held, the association plans to organise two editions of the event every year until the pending editions from 2013 onwards are covered. Once all 40 recognised sports disciplines are included, each edition is expected to produce around 4,500 medallists eligible for gradation certificates. By organising two events a year, the association anticipates issuing certificates to roughly 8,000 to 9,000 athletes annually.The sports quota provides reservation in govt recruitment, including a 10% quota in Group-D posts, making the certificates significant for athletes seeking govt employment. Officials said the amendment is expected to benefit many athletes who have remained outside the recruitment process due to the absence of recognised state games and are now approaching the upper age limit of 42 years.Officials said the association has also begun verifying certificates and processing applications ahead of the upcoming recruitment cycle. Beniwal said the policy change is expected to benefit thousands of athletes and help reduce the migration of sportspersons to other states in search of employment opportunities.
