Girls should learn martial arts for self-defence, says para-athlete Aruna Tanwar

Daughter of a driver and BPEd student at Chandigarh University Gharuan, Aruna has been officially selected to represent India at Paralympics Tokyo 2021

Aruna Tanwar, a 21-year-old para-athlete who has been selected for the Paralympics Tokyo 2021, says she is thrilled to represent India as a taekwando player at the international stage.

Aruna Tanwar took up taekwondo at the age of eight. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

“If I can inspire other para-athletes to work on their dreams and aim for success, I will be very thrilled. I am working hard to win a medal for my country at the Tokyo games,” she said during her visit to Chandigarh University, where she is a student of Bachelors of Physical Education.

Hailing from Dinod village near Bhiwani, Aruna got a wild card entry to Paralympics based on her exemplary and consistent performance over the past few years which included a bronze medal at World Para Taekwondo Championship 2019 in Turkey and another bronze medal at Asian Para Taekwondo Championship 2019 in Jordan.

Taking note of Aruna’s achievements, Chandigarh University has introduced a special sports scholarship named after the famous international para-athlete and Arjuna Award recipient Ramesh Tikaram, also known as father of para-badminton. R Tikaram Sports Scholarship will be worth ₹1 crore for para-Olympic players from 2021. In addition, 25 seats under sports category would be reserved for the para-athletes who would be eligible for academic scholarship up to 100% and get access to free hostel accommodation, special diet along with training allowances.

“Aruna has become a role model for many, especially girls who are not given equal opportunity as boys by their parents to showcase their talent and get empowered. We want to encourage para-athletes and boost their talent,” said Dr RS Bawa, pro-chancellor of Chandigarh University.

Daughter of a driver, Aruna was accompanied by his father Naresh Tanwar and coach Ashok Kumar. Aruna is a recipient of Dhyan Chand sports scholarship which takes care of her academic fees, hostel fees, coaching facility and special diet.

Ranked number four in the women’s 49 category, Aruna was born with deformity in both her hands. She was distressed as she couldn’t participate in the World and Asian qualifiers at Jordan due to travel ban owing to the pandemic. “It was really disappointing. But with the efforts of the Para Taekwondo Association of India and Paralympic Committee of India, I was given a wild entry. I am focused on winning a medal for India at the Paralympics,” said a confident Aruna, who is among the eight athletes from eight countries to have been offered the bipartite quotas for Tokyo by IOC and World Taekwondo.

She took up the sport at the age of eight and competed in the normal taekwondo category for eight years. She shifted to para taekwondo in 2017 when she was declared not eligible to compete at the international level due to deformity in both hands.

“I want every girl to learn martial arts and use it as a tool for self-protection and defend themselves against the bad elements of the society,” said Aruna.

Seeing her daughter excel in the sport, Naresh said, “I work as a driver at a chemical factory, so it was difficult for me initially to support my daughter. But due to her willpower and eagerness to play, I decided to take loans apart from spending my savings to support her dream.”

Chandigarh University also presented Aruna with a laptop along with a professional taekwondo kit. “In Tokyo, Aruna will face challenge from Ukraine, China and Chinese Taipei players and I am confident that she will win a medal,” said her coach Ashok.