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At Paralympics 2020
Life has taken a 360-degree turn for Bhavina Patel, and why wouldn’t it, as she became India’s first table tennis player to win a medal at the Paralympics.
Describing the feeling, she says: “It’s amazing. Bahut acha lag raha hai.” She also becomes the second athlete after Paralympic Committee of India chief Deepa Malik to achieve this feat. “Deepa ma’am ne humesha motivate kiya. Yahan tak pahuchne ke liye bahut support diya,” she says.
Slated to come back to India on September 5, Patel is chuffed about having her mom’s Daal Dhokli, and Gol Gappas on her return. Congratulatory messages are pouring in, but that wasn’t always the case for Patel, who was diagnosed with polio when she was 12 months old. “Mummy, papa bol rahe hain ki meri wajah se unka naam hua. Bahut saare log jinhone kabhi call bhi nahin kiya tha, woh bhi congratulate kar rahe hain. Jab main gaanv mein rehti thi, sabke dimaag mein yehi tha ki, ‘Yeh bade ho ke kya karegi.’ Humesha se ek hi cheez rahi thi mere dimaag mein, ki kuch aisa karke dikhana tha jo kabhi kisi ne na kiya ho,” she says.
Para-athlete Yogesh Kathuniya clinched the silver medal in Men’s Discus Throw (F56) event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, despite battling Covid-19 and training for months without a coach. “Covid-19 ke baad, maine sirf online coaching ki sir ke saath,” he shares. It was a dream come true for the 24-year-old, when his favourite sports person reached out to him after his win. “Sachin Tendulkar sir ne mujhe message kiya aur woh mere liye sabse proud moment tha, kyunki woh mere favourite cricketer rahe hain bachpan se,” he says.
Kathuniya credits his college life in playing a major role to get him to where he is today. “My seniors at Kirori Mal College motivated me to get into sports. Mere dost hamesha mujhe motivate karte the. Aaj sab bahut khush hote hain medal dekh ke,” he says. Encouraging youngsters with special needs to become para-athletes, Kathuniya says, “Disability ko aise na samjho ki tum kuch nahi kar sakte. Disability yeh nahin hoti. Disable ka matlab hota hai ‘this is able’, matlab yeh kar sakta hain.”
Sundar Singh Gurjar recently won a bronze medal for India in Men’s Javelin Throw (F46) event in the ongoing Paralympics. But the reason why he dreamt of winning a medal as a kid will bring a smile to your face. “Bachpan mein, main padhne mein kamzor tha aur jab maine pehelwan Sushil Kumar aur boxer Vijender (Singh) ko medal milne par naukri milte hue dekha, toh maine socha khel sabse badhiya hai,” he shares. Gurjar says he bunked classes for his practice sessions. “Main aathvi mein tha toh maine apne PT teacher se kaha, ‘Guruji, mera padhne mein mann nahin lagta.’ Toh unhone mujhe district level me shot put khilaya, aur main first aaya. Ghar wale school bhejte the, par main baste ko raaste mein rakh kar poore din shot put ki practice karta. Do-teen mahine mehenat karke main state level mein gold laya,” says Gurjar.
His coach later convinced him to change his sport to javelin throw. His inspiration is Neeraj Chopra. “Aaj woh world level ka star hai toh bahut achha lagta hai. Mera accident 2015 mein hua tha; uske pehle hum saath khelte the.”