JAIPUR: The pinnacle of sporting excellence, Olympic Games have a rich history of performances that have over the years inspired generations to defy the odds in hunt for glory.
It took former Spanish high jumper Ruth Beitia 12 years to win a gold at the Games, reminds para-athlete Sundar Gurjar as he tries to rationalise the disappointment of the Rio Paralympics in 2016.
“When you look at athletes like Ruth, you realise that your disappointments should rather fuel you to improve your game.
Missing out on roll call led to my disqualification in Rio and at that time I felt it was all over for me.
I am grateful for another opportunity to compete in the Paralympics this year and I am as much confident of winning a medal as I was five years ago,” the 25-year-old javelin thrower said.
Paralympics 2021 is scheduled to be held between August 25 and September 5 and the athlete from Rajasthan is a strong medal contender.
Currently based at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru, Gurjar has been training there since the past two months and will continue to do so till he leaves for Tokyo in the last week of August.
“My event is scheduled on August 30 and we are likely to fly from Bengaluru on August 25 or 26.
Last time, I reached Rio a month in advance.
The situation is different now because of the pandemic, but during our training we strive to create situations like what can be expected in Tokyo.
Thankfully, this time adjusting to the climate will not be an issue as Tokyo will be similar to what it is here in India.
It’s a morning event, so consciously I am getting up early and have made adjustments to the routine,” said the 2019 Arjuna Award winner.
He used to compete in the general category until 2015, but after a freak accident that led to amputation of the wrist of the left hand, Gurjar now competes in the F46 javelin throw category.
Talking about his throw, the Paralympic-bound athlete sounds confident.
World record is 63.97m, but in training I am getting a score between 68-70m.
What makes me more confident about replicating my training performance in Tokyo is I have done it before when I touched the mark of 68.42m to create a national record during the 16th Senior National Para Athletic Championship,” Gurjar said.
The last competition he participated in was the World Para Athletics Championship in Dubai in 2019, where he booked a place for Tokyo 2020.
Reluctant to travel before the Tokyo event: On being quizzed on his reluctance to travel outside India for training and tournaments, Gurjar revealed that his food habits are the major reason.
“Getting Indian food in many countries is a bit of a problem when you go out.
This is one reason why I did not plan to train or participate in any of the tournaments outside the country before the Tokyo event.
Whenever I have travelled outside India, I carry home-cooked food that lasts for four-five days and by that time I usually end up locating outlets from where I can order.
Preparations in ghee like laddoos and puris last longer than other food items, and I keep them in stock,” revealed the para javelin thrower.
Gurjar is lucky that despite Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions because of it, his training did not suffer.
“In 2020, during the lockdown I was staying at the SMS Stadium and trained there without skipping a day and this year, I am here at the SAI centre,” a confident-sounding Gurjar added as he sets sights on Rio redemption.