Olympian Devendra Jhajharia proves that physical limitations can never stop a determined mind.

The first para-athlete to win the country’s highest sporting award who has brought two Olympic gold medals for the country. Devendra jhajharia has time and again shown that physical limitations can never stop a determined mind. It is not easy to maintain consistency for so many years. Devendra’s grit and strong willpower have helped him break his own record!

When Devendra was just eight years old, he had a freak accident. He was climbing a tree when he touched an electrical cable by mistake. The cable was not visible due to the tree leaves. Devendra was electrocuted as a result. He was immediately taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late. His left hand had to be amputated.

Devendra did not let the amputation stop him from excelling in sports. In fact, he used to win lots of prizes at school events. Devendra was spotted by Dronacharya Awardee coach RD Singh in 1997 during a school sports day event. The coach encouraged him to take up sport full time and helped guide Devendra on his early sporting endeavors. He soon moved to college in 2000 and was introduced to the sport of javelin throw by coach Dr. Satyapal Singh.

In 2002, Devendra won the gold medal at the FESPIC Games in Korea. He qualified for his first Paralympic Games in 2004 in Athens, where he went on to set a new world record with 62.15m, eclipsing the old mark of 59.77m; the throw won him the gold medal at the Paralympics. An Arjuna Award followed his performance in Athens and in 2012 he was also conferred the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.

Having created history by becoming the first Indian to win Paralympic gold in 2004, Devendra once again rewrote the history by winning another gold medal and breaking his own previous record, 12 years later, at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. What makes his achievement even better is the fact that his sporting discipline wasn’t a part of the 2008 and 2012 editions of the Paralympics, but he continued his training despite that.

In January 2018, he was awarded the Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honor of the Country – the first-ever Indian para-athlete to receive the honor. After a successful experience at the highest level, Devendra plans to give back to the sport by mentoring future Paralympians for India while continuing to train for Tokyo 2020. 

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