Hisar’s shuttler Tarun Dhillon bags gold in Asian Para Games

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, October 27

In a major achievement, Hisar-based para sportsperson Tarun Dhillon has won a gold medal in the Badminton Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4 event in the ongoing Asian Para Games being held in Hangzhou, China.

World No. 2 ranked Tarun and his partner Nitesh defeated the Indonesian team in a thriller match with a tight score of 9-21, 21-19, 22-20. Talking to The Tribune over phone from Hangzhou, Tarun said they played a perfect team game, which helped them defeat the Indonesian shuttlers in a close match.

It is the third Asian Games medal for Tarun Dhillon, as he had won a silver medal in 2014 and gold medal in the 2018 edition for the country. 32-year-old Tarun was also awarded Arjuna Award last year.

However, he is still waiting to get a government job on the basis of his sporting achievements and expressed hope that Haryana government will soon provide him employment as per the sports policy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the duo for their achievement on social media platform X. Praising the teamwork of both the players, he said that it has set a shining example for upcoming athletes. “Congratulations to Nitesh Kumar and Tarun Dhillon for their magnificent Gold win in Badminton— Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4. Their teamwork and talent have set a shining example for upcoming athletes. India is proud of them.”

Krishan Satrod, former zila parishad member and a family member of Tarun, said the entire village is proud of his feat. “Tarun had suffered injury in his early childhood. However, he started playing badminton in 2012-13 and soon emerged as one of the leading players in the Indian badminton circle in para category. Tarun has won five gold medals, seven silver and five bronze medals in international events in his career,” said Satrod. Tarun also represented the country in the Tokyo Para Olympics and got fourth position.