🎓 My cousin got into college on a sports quota and the family argued all night

My cousin got a seat in a good college last month through the sports quota, for badminton. She's played at state level for years. Our whole family showed up at her house with sweets. By dinner time, though, my uncle was asking whether this system is fair to students who studied hard. It turned into a 2 hour argument and the biryani went cold. I told him she trained 6 days a week from age 9. She woke up at 5 for practice. I've seen her do it. She once played with a swollen ankle and told nobody until the match ended. My uncle said, fine, but some people only do the minimum to get a certificate and then stop playing. He didn't name anyone. I think he was just frustrated, because his own son missed a seat by 3 marks. My cousin sat there with her plate and said, I didn't do it for the seat. She said the college was a bonus and she'd have played anyway. I believe her, because she still trains. She went to practice the very next morning, with the sweets still on the table. I can't say how the system checks everything, and I don't want to pretend I know. I just know her side of it. She earned it, and nobody in that room could say otherwise. What I'm not sure about is the people I never met, and how anyone checks what they claim. Has anyone here used a sports quota or seen a friend use one? What was it like? I'd like to hear from someone who's been through the process, not just opinions like mine.

I see both sides, and that's what makes it hard. A neighbour's son missed a seat by 3 marks. He was upset for weeks, and it was tough to watch. I won't say anyone cheated, I don't know. Then I think of the girls training at 5 every morning, who obviously deserve their chance. Maybe the question is how it gets checked, and I have no idea about that.

My cousin got in through sports a few years ago, and I saw how she lived for that. She trained 6 days a week from age 9, and the paperwork was nothing next to trials. So when people say the system is unfair, I think of her first. Maybe I'm biased. Some others may misuse it, I wouldn't know. I only know the hard-working ones I've met.