Tajinderpal Singh Toor at the medal ceremony of shot put in which he won gold. (PTI Photo)
In the late 1980s, Karam Singh Toor’s exploits in tug-of-war competitions in Punjab earned him a nickname: ‘Hero’. He won medals in a number of tournaments in the state, including at the famous rural Olympics at Qila Raipur. There was local renown in tug-of-war but no future. He had to leave it all to work on his 15-acre farm at village Khosa Pando in Moga.
His love for intensely physical sports saw him encourage his son Tejinder Pal Singh to take up shot put. But before Toor Junior could make it big, Karam was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2012. Despite chemotherapy, three years later, it metastasised to his bones. Karam Singh underwent another surgery this April. His father failing health nearly forced Tejinder, returning from the Commonwealth Games where he finished 7th, to think about leaving the sport, but after the family and his coach insisted, he carried on.
As the 24-year-old hurled the sphere 20.75 metres to break the Asian Games record and win the gold medal, a feeling relief washed over Karam Singh, who was watching the final lying on his bed at the village.
“Jinna zor main landa si rassa kassi ch, Tejinder ne tan aaj 6 bandeyan da zor lagaa ta (The amount of effort I put in tug-of-war, Tajinder put in six times that effort today). Once I was selected for an international NRI tournament in Thailand, but the tour was cancelled. Today, Tejinder made the Indian flag rise in the same region in a sports event. What more can I ask?
“Since the time I got cancer, his only concern has been my health and I know that he must be thinking about my health even today,” shared an emotional Karam Singh.
At the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, it was evident that Tejinder was distracted, and it showed in his performance. His best at the Gold Coast was 19.10m. Today he threw 19.96m twice, before giving it all in the penultimate throw.
“70 din ch practice karwayi te aaj da medal aya hai. Straight after the Commonwealth Games, he made sure that his father underwent surgery at the Army R and R Hospital. But he did not want to train. We had to convince him to continue. This gold medal is the result of his will,” shared Gurdev Singh Toor, 45, Tejinder’s uncle.
Gurdev was shot putter himself in his younger days, winning bronze medal at the Junior Asian Championships in 1996.
Tejinder initially started with discus throw, before following in his uncle’s footsteps. He turned out to be a natural. Title wins at the National School Games and Junior Nationals followed and, last year, he announced himself on the big stage with a silver medal effort at the Asian Indoor Championships.
“Discus helped him master his rotation technique at a young age. At the village stadium, there would be less space as most villagers at that time would use the open space to dry cow dung cakes. He would run at the stadium and practice shot put at the government school. When he was 15, he would make 120-130 throws per week. He has an Olympic logo inscribed on the wall of his room. That is his dream: to win the medal in the Olympics,” added Gurdev.
Growing up Tejinder’s diet would equal that of two children, informed his mother Prit Pal Kaur.
“When he was young, he would often sleep with the ‘gola‘ (shot) under his pillow. His day would start with eating paranthas and 10 eggs and finished too with eating. They would call his father ‘hero’. Aaj medal jeet ke asli hero tan Tejinder hi ban gaya,” said Kaur.