Boria Majumdar in Paris
In my thirty-plus years of sports reporting, I have not heard a story like this. When Nishad Kumar first came to train in Panchkula, he wasn’t sure if he would be admitted. Nor was he certain about the fees the coaches charge every month. When his brother asked one of the coaches what the fee structure was like, he was told that it was a government facility and talented athletes are trained without charge. Thinking to himself that he had at least saved 1500 rupees for the family, Nishad made up his mind to be a high jumper.
The coaches asked him if he was committed to the sport or if he was keen on playing to secure a government job. For Nishad, the goal was clear. He had to represent India and everything else would follow. The coaches took his number and informed him that he would get a call ahead of the next camp.
“In two months, I got a call and was told that I needed to join the camp in a few days,” he said. “I packed everything I needed to – utensils, rice, atta, dal, my blanket, bedsheets, soap, oil, and all that you can think of – and even bought vegetables to take with me. Everything that I got filled up an entire auto. That’s how I went to the camp fully ready to stay there for as long as it was needed. My coaches were shocked to see me reach the camp with rice, atta and vegetables and asked what was wrong with me. The truth is I did not know that you get food and all else in a camp. That’s how my journey started.”
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
When Nishad was in Dubai the first time, he wanted to buy something for his dad. “There was no money then,” he told me. “So I was thinking what I could get. Because there are severe power cuts in my village and we always use a torch, I thought I’d get a really nice torch for my dad. That’s what I bought for him from Dubai the first time.”
When he earned a bit of money, the first gift was for his mother. “I took my mom to a jewellery shop and asked her to get something made of gold that I could afford,” said Nishad. “I wanted to see her wear it, for it would make me happy. For everything she has done for me, I had never given her much. This little gift made me really happy.”
But the best was yet to come. “I have already bought something for my mother and have kept it hidden at home,” he said. “I don’t want her to see it till I get home and give it to her myself. This silver medal is for my country and my family. Somehow, my sister got a whiff of it and has seen it. I told her to forget what she has seen it and not say a word to my mother. I will go back to India and give it to her.”
Before we finished the interview, he said something interesting. “Sir, please come to LA 28. I will win gold and beat Townsend in his own backyard. I need to change the colour of my medal and I will do everything to do that.”
And yes, now he knows that the training camp is all set to welcome him as a double Paralympic medallist, and he doesn’t have to carry anything with him anymore!
Also Read: Showman Suhas Yathiraj faces biggest test against France’s Lucas Mazur