It’s been greater than every week since Vinod Kumar misplaced his Paralympic discus throw (F52) bronze, however his daughter nonetheless believes her father is a Paralympic medalist. Seven-year-old Sakshi noticed her father coming third within the stay stream, however the furore that adopted is but to be identified.
Vinod’s spouse Anita says, “She nonetheless thinks her father obtained a medal from Tokyo.
There is nothing fallacious with the air of mourning and anguish at Kumar’s name house in Rohtak, a rented home. They have gone by an emotional roller-coaster up to now few weeks. First, there was the enjoyment of a 41-year-old man making a career-best effort of 19.91m to earn bronze within the F52 classification of the lads’s discus occasion in Tokyo. But the outcome was withheld for classification evaluation. And after an analysis the subsequent morning, the panel discovered him ineligible for the F52 class.
“We had already distributed sweets to our neighbors and were celebrating their victory,” Anita remembers. “We thought our lives would change after the medals but later that night my husband called me and said the results had been withheld.”
Vinod’s name got here when his home was crowded with associates and kinfolk. He silenced the celebrations, however nonetheless remained hopeful. But the subsequent day, Vinod calls Anita in tears to tell that he is not going to return with the medal.
“At the end of the day no matter how tough you are, you are human. I am still scattered,” says Vinod.
As the preliminary outcomes got here out, Vinod thought that his life would take a flip for the higher.
“I believed I’d lastly have the ability to purchase a home for my children. I believed that my mortgage installments can be settled and I may even return the cash I had borrowed from my sister.”
He claims that the mortgage quantity together with curiosity is round Rs 10 lakh. His small grocery store close to Rohtak Stadium has additionally develop into vacant and the household has no supply of earnings at current.
“I do not need to sit all day serious about the medal that slipped out of my hand, however I need to practice for Paris. I’m in dire want of some help or else I’ll be pressured to stop. For now It can also be getting tough to satisfy the household bills. How will I have the ability to compete when I’ve no supply of earnings? says Vinod.
In 2002, whereas coaching with the Border Security Force in Leh, he fell off a cliff. He required main surgical procedure on each legs and was bedridden for nearly a decade.
“After my father handed away, the obligations of the household shifted on me. I knew I needed to do one thing. I pushed myself throughout my physiotherapy periods and progressively developed some energy in my higher physique,” he says.
In 2010, he married Anita, who has been his cornerstone ever since. “Without him, I wouldn’t have been a professional athlete,” says Vinod.
The Rohtak resident had just lately entered athletics. The household was launched to the world of para-sports solely after a newspaper article appeared in 2016 about Rio Paralympic silver medalist Deepa Malik.
Vinod says, “We had no concept that folks with disabilities may take part in sports activities.
He wished to know extra about para-sports and operating a small retailer close to the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Rohtak helped in his case.
Archery coach Sanjay Suhag, a frequent customer to his retailer, initially guided him by the method. Vinod began coaching for discus on the stadium and later ran to the store to present his spouse Anita a break. The therapy continued until final 12 months when a visit to Bangalore was made for the therapy.
He was twice contaminated with Kovid-19 and misplaced his voice for a while after his first battle with the virus.
“It was not easy to come back and resume training after Covid. I tried really hard for Tokyo but unfortunately, this issue happened. But I don’t live in the past. I never have,” concluded Vinod.
Now his eyes are in the direction of Paris 2024.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
