Swimmer Tikka Paljk retires from splashing water
TILKA Paljk will not represent the country citing ‘politics’ in Zambia Swimming Union (ZASU).
Speaking from her base in Cape Town, South Africa, the swimmer called out ZASU, saying they have ‘pushed her away’ since January last year following a disciplinary hearing where she was given a suspended penalty.
Paljk, who has not represented Zambia since the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, said she has never been invited to represent the country for over a year.
She told Sports Mail that she has only been in contact with ZASU on two or three times through her club – Maties Swimming.
“After the whole disciplinary hearing, there was a rumour going on that I’d been suspended. But I actually didn’t get any feedback like that. I was kind of just given a warning. But I feel like since that, I’ve been kinda pushed away from Zambia’s swimming,” the 27-year-old said.
“So it really feels really weird. I don’t understand how you can treat your top athlete like that. It felt very personal. And I feel like when things like that happen, you need to have a team that is impersonal to these things.
“These things happen, we’ve gone through a disciplinary hearing, you’ve said what you need to say, I’ve said what I need to say, you’ve given me my results. You haven’t suspended me or expelled me, you’ve given me my warning, I’ve taken it and so we move on. But it just felt personal towards me.”
Credit: Zambia Daily Mail
