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Haryana Paralympics gold medallist, educator awarded Padma Shri
Harvinder is India’s first para-archer to win gold while educator Sant Ram Deswal was awarded Padma Shri in Literature and education.
Kaithal’s Harvinder Singh and Sonepat’s Sant Ram Deswal were awarded Padma Shri on the eve of the Republic Day. Harvinder is India’s first para-archer to win gold while educator Sant Ram Deswal was awarded Padma Shri in Literature and education.
A native of Kaithal district and an Arjun awardee, 33-year-old Harvinder has been conferred with the fourth highest civilian award in the field of sports. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Harvinder defeated Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek 6-0 in the final of the Men’s Individual Recurve Open to clinch India’s 4th gold medal.
This was India’s first-ever gold medal in para-archery and his second medal at the Paralympics, as he had won bronze in Tokyo in 2021.
Harvinder, who hails from Kaithal, Haryana faced hardship when he was just over a year old.
He had contracted dengue and required injections for treatment, but the side effects of those injections led to the loss of function in his legs.
Harvinder thanked Government of India, his family and coaches Jiwanjot Singh Teja and Gaurav Sharma for the constant support.
Educator Deswal (69) is a retired associate professor from Chhotu Ram Arya (CRA) college in Sonepat. He taught Hindi Sahitya to students for 28 years. He has written 30 books on poetry, culture, folklore of Haryana, art, history and personal essays. He is also a registered advocate at Punjab and Haryana high court and a freelance journalist too.
He was born in Kherka Gujar village of Jhajjar and is presently living in Sonepat after his retirement. He had pursued masters in English and Hindi, besides completing Master of Philosophy and PhD in Hindi from Rohtak’s Maharshi Dayanand University. He has a PG diploma in journalism and mass communication, diploma in translation studies, diploma course in French and LLB. In 2022, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar awarded him ‘Maha Kavi Surdas Aajivan Sahitya Shadna award’ in Chandigarh.
Deswal said that he was surprised when he got a call that informed him about the award. “I could not understand how I was given the award when I had not even applied. I later came to know that my son had applied for it,” he said. He wanted to dedicate his award to his teachers, family, friends and society from where he learnt education and literature.
