Ace shooter Tejaswini Sawant won back-to-back gold and silver medals at the recently-held Commonwealth Games in Australia. (Reuters Photo/File)
Ace shooter Tejaswini Sawant, who won back-to-back gold and silver medals at the recently-held Commonwealth Games in Australia, had given strict instructions to her husband, Sameer Darekar, and other family members to tone down celebrations over her victory. Sawant, 38, had just received news about the tragic death of Jawan Kiran Thorat, who was killed in firing by the Pakistan Army at Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch.
Tejaswini, who dedicated her medals to the martyr, said, “I didn’t know him… but he hailed from Aurangabad and was only 22 years old”.
At the Commonwealth Games, Tejaswini not only bagged the gold in the 50 m Rifle 3, she also won a silver medal in the women’s 50 m rifle prone event.
Before she leaves for Changwon in South Korea to face her next challenge at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup, which will start on April 20, Tejaswini said she decided “to seek the blessings” of Army personnel.
Tejaswini Sawant at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune.
At a brief stopover in Pune on Sunday, Tejaswini sought permission to visit the Artificial Limb Centre, which manages the prosthetic and orthotic needs of disabled personnel of the Indian Armed Forces. “When I shook hands with a soldier who had a prosthetic arm… I had tears in my eyes. These are soldiers fighting for our country.. some of them are dying at an early age… some will live with handicaps for the rest of their life. I don’t think even my tears after winning medals at CWG were a match for the emotions I felt when I met these brave men, “ Tejaswini told The Indian Express.
The shooter has a special connection with the armed forces. Both her grandfathers were in the Army, while her father had served in the Navy for a short while. When her father had encouraged her in 2003 to join the armed forces, and participate in the selection trials as a shooter, Tejaswini said she refused to live away from her family. “I was not comfortable… and refused to go. I was in my early 20s and did not wait for the results of the trials… but these soldiers stay away from their families for months,” she said.
Tejaswini took the medals to ALC, where she showed them to the differently-abled soldiers. The officers at the Centre explained how the team of prosthetic surgeon, engineer, prosthetist and orthotist (limb fitter), physiotherapist, leg training instructor and medical social workers work round-the-clock to ensure that the defence personnel’s lives get back on track as soon as possible.
The motto of the centre is ‘no wheelchair, no crutches’ and these heroes, despite their severe injuries, have bounced back.
“There is so much positivity here,” said Tejaswini, as she gave the soldiers at the centre a heartfelt salute.