Devendra Jhajharia’s Inspiring story - Fusion - WeRIndia

Devendra Jhajharia bough glory to India by winning a gold medal in the Rio – Paralympics. In his third attempt in the men’s F46 event of javelin throw, he threw the javelin to 63.97 metres. His achievement got him a gold medal. This time he broke his own record of 62.15 metres set during the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.

The story of Devendra is inspiring and brave. He hails from a village in Churu district of Rajasthan. He lost his left hand at the age of eight. It was when he climbed a tree and touched an 11,000 volt live wire tangled in the branches.

Ever since that happened, people would show pity to him and say that he will never do anything. With caring parents and a strong determination, Devendra paved his own path for success.

It was when one of his school mates threw a javelin and taunted Devendra if he can do it or not. Devendra rushed to the boy and requested to have a try. He managed to throw the javelin farther than the other boy.

After that, Devendra made a javelin out of whatever scrap he had. He used a bamboo stick or a fisherman’s harpoon. With that, he practiced without telling anyone knowing that he won’t be able to convince his parents or anyone. Devendra wanted to prove to everyone that he is not weak and that he too could achieve anything. As he practice more and more, he learned the sport well. He then participated in school and district level competitions winning several awards.

In 1997, his talent was identified by Coach Ripudaman Singh identified after seeing his performance in a school tournament. That was the beginning of Devendra’s professional career. He quickly rose up the rankings and won his first gold medal at the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled in Korea in 2002. He is currently number three in the world. With his medal in Rio, India now has four medals this year.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia