Visually challenged Gurvir bags bronze in maiden national meet

Anil Datt

Ludhiana, April 10

Gurvir Singh, a visually challenged athlete, proved that dedication, hard work and disciplined approach are the main ingredients which are required to achieve the desired goal.

Gurvir, a native of Dehlon near here, after a punctual practice of just three weeks, won a bronze medal in the Open National Para Athletics Championship held at Bhubaneswar in Odisha recently. He finished at the third place to secure a bronze medal in the 5,000m race.

The achievement was of great significance as this was his maiden participation in the national competition and he ran with a bruised shoulder, knee and forearm (Gurvir was hurt while taking part in 1.500m race, two days ago).

Sanjiv Sharma, athletics coach with the Punjab Sports Department who imparts training/coaching to Gurvir Singh at Guru Nanak Stadium here, said the athlete was selected for the national championship on the basis of his performance during the selection trials conducted by the Punjab Para Sports Association at Bathinda last month wherein Gurvir won top position in the 400m, 1,500m and 5,000m races.

“Gurvir got injured while competing in the 1,500m race after colliding with one of his opponents in Bhubaneswar and finished at fourth place. He was not ready to take part in the 5,000m race to be held two days later. We toiled hard to make him ready for the event and he did not disappoint and clinched a bronze medal,” said the coach.

Meanwhile, Sanjiv Sharma and Gurvir Singh, along with other para athletes, have urged the authorities concerned to conduct the selection trials again for the Asian Para Athletics Meet to be held in September this year so that they could attend it. Earlier, they did not appear for these trials due to some unavoidable circumstances.

Gurvir thanked Paramjeet Kaur and Jaspal Singh, district manager and managing director, respectively, Ludhiana Central Cooperative Bank, for extending help to pursue his passion for sports.

Ravinder Singh, district sports officer, appreciated Gurvir on winning a bronze in his maiden attempt during the national championship. He also lauded coach Sanjiv Sharma who sharpened the athlete’s skills in a short span of time and excel in the national meet.