‘Haath katne ke baad bhi maine khud ko kisi se kam nahin samjha’
Nishad Kumar received a warm welcome when he returned home after winning a silver medal in men’s high jump T47 event at the Paralympics. “Jab main ghar aaya, Punjab aur Himachal Pradesh ke border se lekar ghar tak public khadi thi,” says Kumar.
“I started training in 2019. Sometimes, I would go overboard with the training and got yelled at by my coach. Main chaar ghante train karta rehta tha. Mujhe hard work pasand hai aur is wajah se hi main iss mukaam tak pahucha hoon,” says Kumar.
Ask him what motivated him to be so dedicated towards the sport and win at the Paralympics, and he says, “Mere father ne bola tha ki meri pagg (turban) aur upar karke aana. Isi baat ko dhyaan mein rakh kar maine training ki aur medal laaya. Silver medal ki positions do thi, magar humara flag USA ke upar tha aur yeh mere liye bahut khushi ki baat thi ki humara tiranga upar hai. Ceremony ke baad maine maa ko call kiya aur meri aankhon mein aansu the.”
Kumar never allowed his disability to impact his life. “Haath katne ke baad bhi maine khud ko kisi se kam nahin samjha. Maine har woh cheez kari jo doosre karte the, jaise kheti aur ghar ka kaam,” he says.
But that doesn’t mean it’s all been like a cakewalk for him. “I needed to better my financial situation, but I was determined to do something remarkable. To leave my village and head to a city was a huge thing for me. My mom and dad would work overtime to gather money for me,” says Kumar.
Ceremony ke baad maine maa ko call kiya aur meri aankhon mein aansu the. NISHAD KUMAR,