Скачать или смотреть Flying high on broken wings, the story of Tokyo-bound para-athlete Amit Saroha

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Flying high on broken wings

Wheelchair-bound Amit Saroha is competing in his third Paralympics in Tokyo

It’s almost fourteen years now, a former national-level hockey player, Amit Saroha, is living his sports’ dreams on a wheelchair. It was a horrific night of September in 2007, when a road accident confined him to a wheelchair forever.

Accident gave him a severe spine injury and a permanent disability, but it was his never say die attitude that helped him carve out a sports career even on a wheelchair.

An Arjuna awardee in para-sports, Saroha is competing in his third Paralympics in Tokyo, starting from September 25. He will be competing in the club throw event in the F-51 category – below waist paraplegic category.

Saroha missed a bronze medal by a whisker in 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. In the 2017 World Championship he won silver with a throw of 30.25m.

The performance also helped him to name the Asian record.

From hockey turf to para-sports

Saroha, a former national-level hockey player, was introduced to para-sports in 2007.

“It was September 21, 2007, when in a road accident I had severe spinal injury and after a few days of treatment I was told by the doctors that for the rest of my life I would be in a wheelchair. For a moment it came to my mind that everything is over for me. But then I realized that the accident gave me permanent disability and I didn’t lose my life. So, whatever happened was my destiny,” recalls Saroha, who hails from village Bayanpur, Sonepat. “I consider the date of the accident as my new birth and since then I always celebrate it with my friends,” he adds.

At the time of his days in the Indian Spinal Injury Centre he came across an American guy, who introduced him to wheelchair rugby. Later on Saroha formed the Indian team and played a demo match against Brazil in World Para-Games in Banglore in 2009. “In Bangalore I came to know about para-sports and with the six months of training in shot put I made it to the national squad. After that as we say rest is the history,” says Saroha, who also had a Para-Asian Games gold to his credit.

Helping hand for fellow athletes

Saroha never shy away in helping his fellow athletes. He has helped many disabled ones to get into para-sports and also sponsored the ones, who are not financially well off.  

“By god of grace I am financially well off and today what I have earned whether in terms of money, or in recognition is all because of para-sports. So it’s my time to give back to the sport,” says Saroha.