Rewa Para Athlete Sachin Sahu Who Won Bronze in National Championship Forced to Sell Ice Cream
In a heart wrenching development, a Rewa-based para-athlete who won bronze in National Championship is forced to sell ice cream on a street corner. 21-year-old Sachin Sahu recently participated in 20th National Championship where he completed a 400-meter race in the matter of seconds. The competition for para-athletes took place at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium. In his recent interview to Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, Mr. Sahu shared about his trials and tribulations, his struggle with financial matters, and his medal-winning performance at the 20th National Championship.
Mr. Sahu’s inspirational story comes just a few weeks after another inspiring story of a female hockey player emerged. Earlier this month, Shikshanews reported about Mumtaz Khan, the daughter of a vegetable vendor who came from a humble background and went on to lead the India’s female hockey team to defeat Korea.
The Facts of the Matter
As the nation continues to indulge in the fervor of the Indian Premiere League, an inspiring story of a para-athlete has emerged. The story has all the ingredients of an inspiring documentary. It has struggles, drama, some action, and a bittersweet end. The bittersweet end is spoiled in our headline – the athelete in question is forced to sell ice-cream in Rewa, despite his medal-winning performance. With cricketers getting a larger share of the attention pie, the inspiring story of Sachin Sahu begs authorities to pay heed to the dire conditions of Indian para-athletes who if assisted, can make India proud on world map.
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The Exhausting Economic Situation that Sahu Deals With
Speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, Mr. Sahu explained how his financial situation is not that great. In fact, the situation was so dire that he couldn’t buy a proper pair of shoes to practice his running. His disability was compounded by his lack of financial resources. Yet, Sahu kept himself motivated to not give up. With one foot smaller than other, he chose the treacherous open ground of Rewa to practice running, and in the process, left behind his inabilities.
Opening Ice-Cream Stall to Make Ends Meet
In his interview, Mr. Sahu explained that whenever he wants to visit a tournament or competition to compete, even paying for accommodation and conveyance becomes a big challenge. To make his ends meet, and continue competing in tournaments, Mr. Sahu decided to sell ice-cream on a stall in Rewa.
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How Sachin Sahu Forayed into World of Para-Athletics
A fan of cricket like most Indians, Mr. Sahu played as much cricket as his disability would allow from 2015 to 2019. However, the nature of his disability left him without any success to boast about. A sportsperson through and through, Mr. Sahu pivoted from cricket and decided to hedge his bets on athletics.
Meeting Coach, Getting Selected in Team
Thanks to the power of social media, he was able to connect with Mr. B.K. Dhavan, who later became his athletics coach. Mr. Sahu’s first trial by fire came in Gwalior, where he went through trials. After being selected in the team, he went through under multiple rounds of training. Meanwhile, to continue making his ends meet and help his family, he went on with selling ice-creams.
The Setback Due to COVID Pandemic
A huge setback came in 2020 when despite going through so many training sessions, the next National Championships got postponed due to COVID-19. Mr. Sahu waited with batedbreath and in 2021, he competed in his first ever tournament. However, setbacks continued to riddle his journey as he ended up coming fourth in position, just one position away from attaining a medal.
Winning Bronze Medal
However, he chose not to give up on his dream and started training for the 2022 National Championship. For months, he used to wake up at 4 in the morning and trained till 7 at a ground near Rewa railway station. In 2022, he finally won the bronze medal in 400-meter race.
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source https://shikshanews.com/rewa-para-athlete-sachin-sahu-who-won-bronze-in-national-championship-forced-to-sell-ice-cream/
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