E-Paper
Visually impaired sprinter’s workout video during lockdown, an inspiration for athletes
Gurveer Singh Dehlon of Ludhiana is trying to keep himself fit during lockdown with the help of his two children and wife
Restricted to home with no access to gym and stadium, 34-year-old visually impaired athlete Gurveer Singh Dehlon is trying to keep himself fit during lockdown with the help of his two children and wife.
A video on the social media shows sprinter Gurveer running on the terrace towards his children, standing on two ends, hearing their voice.
He is also seen performing squats while carrying his younger child on his shoulders and running up and down the stairs.
The video is becoming a source of inspiration for other athletes as well.
Gurveer said, “Many athletes are confined to their homes, so I released my workout video to motivate them. Unfortunately, I can’t see myself performing, but I am getting good response from other athletes.”
The athlete said, “I am thankful to my coach Sanjeev Sharma, who is providing me daily workout plans and giving training through Whatsapp. As I am visually, my coach explains the right way of doing an exercise to my wife Kiranjeet Kaur and she helps me in performing it correctly.”
He added his two sons — Jaskaran Singh, 11, and Ishveer Singh, 7, assist him and also exercise along with him in morning and evening hours.
A national record holder in the 100m race, Gurveer was gearing up for the Paralympic Open National Athletic Championship before lockdown as the championship was scheduled to be held at Mysore on March 24 but, later, the championship was postponed due to the spread of coronavirus.
Gurveer was to represent Punjab in 100m, 200m and 400m races in this championship. He said the next date of the championship has not been announced yet.
Running on tracks for the past 21 years, Gurveer had bagged medals in several national-level competitions. “The national championship was not held in 2019. So, my last achievement was in the Paralympic National Athletic Championship held in March 2018 at Panchkula. In the championship, I had bagged a gold medal in the 400m race and a bronze in the 200m race,” he said, while adding that prior to this, there was another national championship organised by the National Federation of Blind at the Guru Nanak Stadium here in January 2018, in which he had won a gold medal in 100m and 200m races each and a silver medal in the 400m race.
‘FRIEND MOTIVATED ME FOR ATHLETICS’
Recalling his struggle, the sprinter said, “In 1999, I was studying at the vocational rehabilitation training centre, Haibowal, Ludhiana, when my friend Vivek Monga, who is also a visually impaired athlete, motivated me to take part in athletics. Once he tied my arm with his with a rope and started training me for an event that was to be held at Jalandhar in 1999. It was my first sports event, and I participated in the 100-metre sprint.”
Gurveer’s passion for track events built up and, in 2000, he earned his first medal (bronze) in long jump at a national-level competition organised by the RD Educational and Charitable Trust in Chennai. He had set a national record in the 100m race in 2008 and in 2010, he was also felicitated with a state award.
Gurveer, who is also working with the Ludhiana Central Cooperative Bank, is also thankful to his parents Ajit Singh and Baljit Kaur for being his moral support.
