Life on line but Dushyant fought on
PALEMBANG: Dushyant Chauhan looked apologetic after emerging from the medical centre at the Jakabaring Complex here, following a bout of dizziness. Halfan-hour back, while the medals ceremony was in full swing, he looked wobbly and kept fidgeting uneasily with the bronze medal.
Within minutes, he started throwing up and collapsed and had to be stretchered to the medical centre inside the sprawling rowing arena. “I am sorry I couldn’t stand firm during the medals ceremony,” said Dushyant, who successfully defended the bronze he won in the men’s lightweight single sculls at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.
Walking around with a glucose drip, after emerging from the medical centre, he said: “After yesterday’s performance (India had a disappointing outing in rowing on Thursday), the team was shattered. I thought, mine was the first event, so I’ll bring gold and give my teammates a headstart. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen and I won a bronze. I wanted to improve upon 2014 performance.
“But the last 250 metres, I didn’t have the strength...didn’t know what I was doing. My mind went numb, I closed my eyes and just kept pushing my oars to the best of my ability, not knowing when my arms would stop working,” said the 26-year-old; his skin looking sallow and eyes bloodshot after the ordeal.
“I first saw the Hong Kong rower (Chun Hin Chiu) pass me around the 1500m mark and then when I saw the Uzbekistan rower closing in on me and threatening to take away the bronze too, I said to myself ‘this is the last race of my life and I have to win’ even though I was finding it difficult to even breathe as I have been suffering from a sore throat and nasal congestions.”
Later, it was known that Dushyant was put on oxygen for 10 minutes so that he could complete the medals ceremony.
It was a poignant moment seeing the man, so committed to the cause of winning a medal for the country, not leaving the flag even for a minute, wrapping it around him as he was stretchered to the medical centre.
The quadruple sculls team waited for Dushyant to emerge and celebrations reached a different level as he joined.