Devendra Jhajharia, the 35-year-old javelin thrower won the Gold medal at the Paralympics at Rio this year. He hails from a remote village in Rajasthan, where the presence of sports was negligible. Devendra lost his left arm when he was nine years old in an electric shock. “My parents, especially my mother, kept me going. She made sure that I mingled with other kids and get over the stigma. When I was 15, I started with a crude handmade bamboo javelin and fell in love with the sport,” he shares.
Devendra has trained hard and has maintained a healthy diet to reach here. From a district-level champion, he steadily moved up the ladder to claim the top spot. He has been felicitated with the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri by the government of India. When asked whether such felicitations and prize money given after winning makes a difference, he says, “Of course it gives a boost. But if it had come earlier, we could have trained better. The recognition coming our way is very encouraging and para-sport is slowly making a mark.” He is currently working with the Sports Authority of India as a coach.
