Thiruvananthapuram: Indian hockey star and Olympic medalist P.R. Sreejesh arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, unaware that a government-organized reception in his honor had been abruptly cancelled. Sreejesh, who traveled to the city with his family, expected to be felicitated on Monday, only to learn of the cancellation after reaching the capital.
The event, initially planned by the Kerala government, was postponed late Saturday night. However, Sreejesh was not informed about the change in plans, leading to his disappointment. Following the news, he chose to return home with his family. “I am not going to respond to the situation right now,” Sreejesh commented when approached by the media.
Education Minister V. Sivankutty stated that since Sreejesh serves as a Joint Director in the Education Department, it was the department’s responsibility to organize the felicitation. The Minister had earlier announced that the event would take place on Saturday, but it was eventually cancelled.
On the other hand, Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman argued that the state Sports Department should be the one to honor the Olympic medalist. The disagreement between the two departments led to intervention from the Chief Minister’s office, which decided to postpone the event.
The reception was originally scheduled for August 24, then moved to August 26 before being postponed indefinitely. The event was also supposed to include job offers to Asian Games medal winners in the Education Department.
Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan criticized the handling of the situation, alleging that “Sreejesh was insulted due to the ego tussle between the Ministers.” He asserted that the Chief Minister should apologize to Sreejesh for the mishandling of the event.
