Wrestling against all odds... and winning

MYSURU:  A road accident at the age of three left him with loss of hearing. He was later diagnosed with a speech disorder linked to hearing loss. But he did not let that disrupt his life. Instead, he stood strong and dedicated himself to bodybuilding and arm wrestling, emerging as a potential medal winner for Karnataka. 

Meet Raju M, 33, whose never-say-die attitude helped him shake off the agony and pick himself up. Though poor, his parents managed to put Raju through speech and hearing therapy, that helped him complete his basic education. His hearing loss problem since childhood had made him a little diffident about mingling with his peer group, and also stopped him from engaging in sporting activities.
“I had impaired hearing and speech issues, but was physically fit. I wanted to achieve something and joined a gym,” says Raju. He sweated it out in the gym and spent most of his time in fitness centres, building muscle. 

Raju’s coach and mentor K Vishwanath, happy to see such dedication, helped him participate in several bodybuilding competitions in the early days, including those organised during Mysuru Dasara. Raju became the talk of the town after he bagged consecutive titles and medals, and kept raising the bar in bodybuilding. Vishwanath, secretary of the Karnataka Arm Wrestling Association, then introduced him to the sport of ‘Arm Wrestling’, and till 2013, he rigorously practised under his mentorship and never looked back.

Since 2013, he has been bringing home awards and medals after winning competitions at the district, state, national and international levels, both in the para-athletics and general category competitions. In the last decade, he has netted more than 30 medals and several trophies. All these helped him qualify for the National World Championship held in 2018. After clinching a gold medal in the national category, Raju participated in the 21st World Para Arm-Wrestling Championship held at Antalya in Turkey in the same year. 

However, he faced the hurdle of finding sponsors. Learning about his struggle, his friends, coach and well-wishers raised funds to help him fly to Turkey for the competition, where he bagged a silver medal.  In 2019, he participated in the National Arm Wrestling Championship held in Hyderabad where he bagged a gold medal. The win got him on board an international event scheduled to be held in Dubai in 2019-20. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition has been put on hold. 

Raju, who worked at a bag factory in Mysuru, has been jobless after the onset of the pandemic. Despite the present situation where tournaments are scarce, he continues to practice for upcoming tournaments. 
Vishwanath points out that Raju’s journey is not only inspiring but also proves that there are many hidden talents like him in the country, who need to be encouraged. “Sadly, the government has failed to recognise such talents,” Vishwanath says. 

“With no job in hand, he works as a bouncer during the weekends, which fetches him a small amount of money that is not enough even for his diet,” says Vishwanath, adding that the government and the authorities must chip in to support and help Raju get due recognition. “I don’t want to see talents like him end up as bouncers.” 

Asked about his future plans, Raju says that his only aim is to win the world championship and train aspiring arm wrestlers. He has big dreams, but there is a shadow on his smile, for these are uncertain times. 

HIGH POINTS 

Silver medal
21st World Para Arm Wrestling Championship, Turkey, 2018

Six-time winner, 
State-level Arm Wresting Championship

Winner, Arm Wrestling Championship, IHFF-2019
Winner, Mysuru Dasara Arm Wrestling Championship

Winner at 

National Arm Wrestling Championship

organised by Telangana Arm Wresting Association, Hyderabad