JAIPUR: It has been five years to the event when Sundar Singh Gurjar missed out on a roll call that led to his disqualification from the Rio Paralympics.
On Monday, the 25-year-old javelin thrower offloaded the disconcerting weight he was carrying on his mind after winning a bronze medal with a throw of 64.01m at the Tokyo Paralympics.
The athlete from Rajasthan's Karauli used to compete in the general category until 2015, but after he met with an accident while fixing a tin shade at his friend's house that led to amputation of the wrist of the left hand, Gurjar now competes in the F-46 javelin throw category.
Overcoming the trauma of the accident and qualifying for Rio was in itself a challenge that he overcame, but not even getting to participate in the event was heart-breaking.
Battling depression and coming out of it to get his focus back on the sport, and on Tokyo Paralympics, was only possible because of his coach Mahavir Saini. He got his confidence back as he started training and consequently started winning medals. The biggest immediate gold he won after the Rio disaster was in London at the World Athletics Para Championships.
"I am extremely elated to have won a medal in the Tokyo Paralympics. In Rio 2016, I was disqualified but now I have won bronze. I want to thank my coach Mahavir Saini who trained me from 2009 and stood by me in bad times after Rio 2016. I also want to thank my family, SAI & PCI for all the support and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for motivation. I also want to thank my family as they helped me throughout my bad times," Sundar told ANI after the event.
Even when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Sundar did not let his training suffer and reached out to the Rajasthan state sports minister Ashok Chandna for help. "Everything was closed in 2020 due to the strict lockdown in place, but when Sundar approached us for help, we opened the facilities at the SMS Stadium for him," said the minister.
In the end, the single-minded focus on Tokyo has, among other things, earned the javelin thrower the much-needed relief he was looking for since long.
