‘Kabhi bhi kisi situation mein haar mat maano’

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...”