Churu’s Champion

An 8 year old boy from Churu district in Rajasthan accidentally touched a live electric cable and suffered grievous injuries on his left hand, resulting in its amputation. A young kid had lost a hand, a tragedy had struck a simple, unassuming family.

15 years later, the same Young  bloke was competing in the Athens Paralympics. This one armed boy wonder had become an ace Javelin thrower and though it may sound   unbelievable, had won the Gold Medal in the event for India.

 True is this story of Devendra Jhajharia, the Champion from Churu, who in 2004 won the Javelin Gold for India at the Paralympics in Athens and repeated the feat at the 2016 Paralympics at Rio in the F46 Javelin event (F46 is a disability sports classification. People in this class have a single below or above the elbow amputation) and became the only Indian at the Paralympics to have won two Gold Medals. What a feat achieved through years and years of hard labour.

However, what surprises me, that in spite of the monumental achievements of Devendra Jhajharia and the glory he has got to our country, he was never heard of, never discussed, until Neeraj Chopra burst on the scene and prized out a much desired Gold medal for us in the just concluded Tokyo Olympics. 

Thanks to Neeraj Chopra, Devendra Jhajharia very deservingly is getting appreciation for his mighty conquests, as he prepares himself for a possible third Gold medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo starting from 24th August and considering his present form, this 40 year old looks almost certain to beat the field.

As much as we need to applaud, reward and celebrate the achievements of Olympians, we also need to do the same for achievers like Devendra Jhajharia, the unsung heroes who in spite of physical challenges achieve great heights. They can inspire and instill  hope in several of our countrymen who have unfortunately suffered injuries and disabilities.

Devendra Jhajharia is a beacon of light… he is a one armed Army.