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Invincible spirit - lost hand but not courage, Etawah’s Ajeet sights gold at Tokyo Paralympics
Ajeet Singh Yadav wanted to be a teacher or a professor of sport, but never thought he would become a sportsperson of international repute one day
Ajeet Singh Yadav wanted to be a teacher or a professor of sport, but never thought he would become a sportsperson of international repute one day. That is what destiny had in store for Ajeet who lost his left hand in a 2017 train accident while trying to save a friend.
Ajeet, 27, who hails from Nagla Bidhi village in Etawah and is pursuing a PhD in physical education and sports, will pursue a gold medal in javelin throw at the Tokyo Paralympics, starting on August 24.
“I lost all hope as nothing was left for me then, but today, I feel this is what God decided for me. Winning a gold medal at Tokyo will not only give me immense confidence, but will also help me start a new life,” said Ajeet on Tuesday, after finishing his day’s training at SAI’s Sonipat centre.
Ajeet, who made India proud by winning the gold medal in men’s javelin throw at the Fazza Para Athletics Grand Prix, in Dubai, in February, said that his fight for gold at Tokyo would be against compatriots Devendra and Sundar Singh Gujar, who too, have been doing well in the discipline.
“The fight for the gold medal will be among the Indians themselves as both my teammates are tough contenders. My mission will be to do better than those two and finish on top, that too with a world record,” said Ajeet, gold medallist at the 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix, in Beijing, as well.
“The event at Dubai was perfect in terms of preparation for the Tokyo Paralympics. During the pandemic, it was really difficult to train and prepare well. But I managed by working out in the gym,” said Ajeet, adding, “If the train accident had not happened, I would have been aiming to become a sport teacher or a professor of physical education somewhere.”
In fact, Ajeet’s story is among the most inspirational ones from the world of sport. Despite the setback, he has never lost hope and sought to work hard to be a javelin thrower and a terrific player at that.
Ajeet, who threw javelin to a distance of 63.96 metres at the final selection trials in New Delhi last week, comes from a family of farmers, and holds BPEd and MPEd degrees.
“I lost consciousness when I fell from a moving train near Satna in December 2017 while saving my friend. He remained unscathed, but unfortunately, I suffered multiple injuries, including amputation of the left arm below the elbow, several fractures, right hip dislocation and severe bruises all over the body.”
“I couldn’t think of anything positive after that. But after being motivated by my mentor and coach VK Dabas, I came out of the mental agony and trauma. I still feel that winning gold at the Grand Prix Championship in 2019 in China and later a bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championship at Dubai in November, 2019 did wonders to my confidence.”
However, he said that before making his official entry to para sport at the National Para Athletics Championship at Panchkula, Haryana, in March 2018, he was quite nervous, as he was about to start a new life and was participating without complete recovery.
“I threw the javelin standing and still won fourth place in this important championship. More than winning the medal, the main object of participating in the national championship was to learn and know about para athletics in general and para javelin in particular.”
“I am thankful to my family, which never stopped me from pursuing para sport after the accident. They stood by me and it was my coaches and mentors at the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education in Gwalior, who kept guiding me towards my Mission Paralympics,” he said.
