Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
Making India proud at Paralympics 2020
At 18, Praveen Kumar’s indomitable spirit won him a silver medal in Men’s High Jump (T64) event in his debut Paralympics. He says, “Maine teen saal train kiya tha medal laane ke liye. Mere paas words nahin hain yeh batane ke liye ki mujhe kaisa feel ho raha hai. I’m the youngest Indian to win a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.”
Kumar reveals that he was about to give up sports in 2019, however, his coach convinced him not to. “Meri journey mein, coach Satyapal Singh ka sabse zyada support raha hai. Jab meri classification hui thi 2019 mein World Junior Championship mein, uss time meri category T42 se T44 mein change ho gayi thi aur mujhe aisa laga tha ki ab mujhse nahin hoga. Lekin mere coach ne mujhe sports chodhne se roka aur aaj yeh medal aaya hai,” he says.
On what propelled him to embark on this journey of a para-athlete, Kumar shares, “Jab 2016 mein Paralympic hua tha, doosre para athletes ke medals dekh ke mujhe laga main bhi disable hun magar mujhe bhi inki tarah aage badhna chahiye.” Kumar has an advice for aspiring para-athletes: “Kabhi bhi kisi situation mein haar mat maano. Aage badhte jaao...”
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.
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.”