40 year old Devendra Jhajharia, who left everyone impressed with his performance at the Tokyo Paralympics was recently celebrating being awarded the Padma Bhushan with junior athletes in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. “Main aaj bahut khush hun. And first and foremost I want to thank Prime Minister Modi ji for honouring the first ever para-athlete with a Padma Bhushan in the history of India. This will have a very encouraging ripple effect on all young and aspiring para-athletes!” says Jhajharia.
Jhajharia has always given a stupendous performance on the field, never letting his age bother him. The seasoned paralympian’s spirit has further strengthened after his Padma Bhushan win. “I understand that getting this award has further laden me with a responsibility to perform even better in future competitions. Asian Games and Paris Paralympics are my biggest goals right now. Another goal that I am working towards is trying to encourage and coach younger athletes. Main apne desh ke liye humesha samarpit rahoonga,” says Jhajharia who had guided and motivated Avani Lekhara at the Tokyo Paralympics, last year.
Jhajharia completes 20 years as a para-athlete this year and one wonders if it was always his dream to win a Padma award? “My dream was always to win a medal for my country. I never thought or dreamt of getting a Padma Bhushan award nor was my focus on anything other than serving my nation. I feel overwhelmed and motivated to win this award,” says Jhajharia.
The paralympian is on his way to his loved ones, to celebrate this moment. “I had a word with my daughter, my wife and my mother and my daughter asked me to come back home as she will celebrate this award in her own way. So I’m headed back home to celebrate with my loved ones,” he says.
{{/usCountry}}The paralympian is on his way to his loved ones, to celebrate this moment. “I had a word with my daughter, my wife and my mother and my daughter asked me to come back home as she will celebrate this award in her own way. So I’m headed back home to celebrate with my loved ones,” he says.
{{/usCountry}}The two time Paralympic gold medallist has always taken things in his stride. At the age of eight, climbing a tree Jhajharia had touched a live electric cable and the doctors were forced to amputate his left hand. This, however, didn’t stop Jhajharia from becoming a world class athlete. Taking a lesson out of his own journey, he has a message for everyone, “Nirash naa ho aur dhairya naa kho, disciplined hoke, rashtra ke liye samarpit ho aur mehnant karo.”
Author tweets @FizzyBuddha