However, given the risk of injuries and lack of funding that beset many prospective stars, the route to success can be challenging. Big Sports grounds produce famous players and inspirational stories.
However, there have been a number of athletes in Indian sports history who have defied the odds and left us with inspirational tales.
This year’s National Games are no exception, as talented athletes and sportspeople from all around the country have astounded us with both their performance and tenacity.
Here are five medalists from the 36th National Games who persevered through all odds to achieve their goals:
- Hinaben Khalifa
Hinaben experienced several challenges while growing up in Vadagam in the Aravalli region of Gujarat in order to achieve her goals. When she was still a toddler, her father Salim Khalifa became paralyzed, forcing her mother Sugraben to work as a housekeeper to make ends meet.
As a teen, Hina would go with her mother, sisters, and other family members to other households so they could all make the most of the space they worked in and make enough money to feed the family.
Hina and her sister Madina had to balance going to school, practicing, and assisting their mother even when they first began training in wrestling. To make their dream come reality, they persisted and kept to their plans.
Even though they continue to battle poverty, Hina’s efforts are beginning to pay off. She became the second wrestler from Gujarat to win a medal at the National Games in 2022 when she won the bronze medal in the 53kg weight division.
As a teen, Hina would go with her mother, sisters, and other family members to other households so they could all make the most of the space they worked in and make enough money to feed the family.
Hina and her sister Madina had to balance going to school, practicing, and assisting their mother even when they first began training in wrestling. To make their dream come reality, they persisted and kept to their plans.
Even though they continue to battle poverty, Hina’s efforts are beginning to pay off. She became the second wrestler from Gujarat to win a medal at the National Games in 2022 when she won the bronze medal in the 53kg weight division. - Udaivir Singh
Recently, Udaivir Singh of Punjab won the men’s individual epee gold in the 36th National Games, which are now taking place in Gandhinagar. He attributes his victory to his father Jaipal Singh, who had to make numerous sacrifices in order to provide his son with the greatest fencing instruction possible.
Former Indian boxer Jaipal, who took home a silver medal at the Asian Games in 1986, spent all of his savings on his son’s training. Up until a few months ago, Udaivir’s father was able to cover his monthly expense of about Rs 2 lakh while he was studying in France.
When he ultimately ran out of money, he sold a plot of property in Patiala to cover the cost of his son’s education.
A few months ago, the epee team from the Commonwealth Championships in London, consisting of Udaivir and Chingakham Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Sathasivan Nirmala, made history by capturing the gold medal. - Siva Subramaniam
Siva Subramaniam didn’t have the money for sports training as a child in Chennai. Then he met Don Wilcox, a former pole vaulter who was giving some disadvantaged kids free coaching.
Siva’s life took a change after this, and he began working out under Wilcox, eventually winning the National Record in his honor in 2018.
Coach Wilcox served as a father figure for Siva. Wilcox had visions of turning the little athlete into a world-class pole vaulter.
Fate had other ideas for the strength coach and pupil as they were on their way to achieving their goals. Due to COVID-19, Coach Wilcox passed away in 2021. Siva was shocked by his untimely death and lost interest in his sport as a result.
He was on the verge of giving up when Gerard, Wilcox’s son, forced him to reconsider and rediscover his passion for the game. Gerard, who has hearing and speech impairments and has won two silver medals at the Deaflympics (in 2005 and 2009), continued his father’s legacy by coaching Siva to win a national record at the 36th National Games after four years.
Siva honored his late coach Don Wilcox with a victory speech. - Shraddha Gaikwad
The 16-year-old Shraddha Gaikwad, who took home the gold medal in women’s street skateboarding at the 36th National Games, has a life narrative that is more fascinating than most works of fiction.
Shraddha and her family relocated to Pune from Beed in Maharashtra in pursuit of better possibilities. At a Decathlon sporting goods store, her father Ravindra accepted a position as a security guard.
When Shraddha arrived to deliver lunch for her father one day, she noticed a client attempting to ride a skateboard. She was intrigued and gave it a shot. When a coworker saw her using the skateboard, she began receiving some rudimentary training.
When she first met her current coach Swapnil Magare, who was leading a skateboarding workshop at the store, things in her life began to change. Shraddha’s performance impressed him, so he brought her in for instruction.
The store manager gave her her first pair of shoes after spotting her riding the board in bare feet. In Bengaluru, India, in December 2018, she went on to win a bronze medal at the Jugaad International Skateboarding Competition. Additionally, she appeared in the 2021 Netflix movie Skater Girl. - Ranju Chingangbam
Ranju Chingangbam, who took home the male street skateboarding gold medal at the 36th National Games, is now a beacon of hope for a small skating community in Manipur. The 17-year-old, who is from Kongkham Leikai in Imphal East, had to work odd jobs to support himself and his goals.
His mother owns a little roadside business in Imphal, and his father is a daily wager. Ranju took up painting in order to pay for his skateboarding because his family didn’t have the resources to cover his training costs. He made between Rs. 350 and Rs. 400 per day doing this.
When Ranju and one of his pals went to the sports complex in 2018, they observed children skateboarding. He became enthralled right away. He took roughly a year to purchase the equipment using the money he had saved up from the painting job.
At the first India Skate Roller Games, hosted by the Roller Skating Federation of India in Mohali in 2022, Ranju also took home a silver medal (RSFI).
News Mania Desk
