Para-athletes from Madhya Pardesh at Sukhna Lake on Thursday. (Express photo by Sahil Walia)
WHILE THE 200 M Dragon Boat races were underway in the Seventh Senior National Dragon Boat and Traditional Boat Racing Championship at Sukhna Lake on Thursday, three Madhya Pradesh players were keenly watching the races. Twenty-four-year-old Pooja Kushwah, 27-year-old Rajni Jha and 23-year-old Prachi Yadav were part of the Madhya Pradesh women’s team, which won the gold medal in 500 M race on Wednesday and the three para-athletes are the only players with disability taking part in the championship.
“I suffered more than 50 per cent burns in a car accident in 2000. Later, I started swimming at Bhopal. Earlier this year, we started training for the Dragon Boat Race competition at the Madhya Pradesh Kayaking and Canoeing Association centre at Chota Talab in Bhopal. Competing in the race meant that I spend time in the sunny conditions, which would result in some pain from my burn marks. But it also gave me a chance to compete against normal athletes. Winning the team gold medal here is like a dream for me and the biggest gift for my family at Gwalior,” said Kushwah, whose father Rajesh Kushwah runs a tea stall.
Kushwah’s team-mate Rajni Jha too started swimming in 2006 and the athlete has 80 per cent disability in her foot. Jha has so far won more than 65 medals in various categories at the national level apart from wining medals at international level and was also one of the 30 Indian Para athletes, who submitted a thesis in Japan in 2014. In the last para swimming nationals in Jaipur, Jha won three gold medals in 50 M freestyle, 100 M freestyle and 200 M individual medley event before opting for Dragon Boat races.
“In these races, a team of 12 players row in a boat and players need to have strength in their arms. So the event is a bit easier for us as compared to other events, which see participation of athletes in normal categories. We wanted to compete in this championship and trained under head coach Mayank Thakur at Bhopal. Our next aim is to compete in the Senior Para Nationals in October later this year,” Jha said.
Jha’s team-mate 23-year-old Prachi Yadav initially joined swimming in 2008 before quitting the sport due to personal reasons. Yadav again started swimming in 2015 and won one silver and bronze medal in 50 M breast stroke and 50 m freestyle events respectively in this year’s nationals at Jaipur. “Competing in this championship has given us a lot of confidence. A lot of our friends called us after we won the team medal. This performance will give us a boost ahead of the nationals,” Yadav said.
Coach Sunil Kewat, who is coach with the Indian team, too rates the players highly. “These players were selected through trials and train in Bhopal under chief coach Mayank Thakur and other coaches. They have shown a lot of courage and this team medal will help their career. They train daily for more than six hours at Bhopal and such performances will motivate them to train more,” Kewat said.
(With inputs from Shradha Chauhan)