Who is Devendra Jhajharia?

Ground Report | New Delhi: Who is Devendra Jhajharia; Devendra Jhajharia is a name that few people will be familiar with. This person has done what no other player of India has been able to do till now. In September 2016, the Paralympic Games were going on in Rio, Brazil, Devendra entered the field to throw the javelin. And with the throwing of the spear, Devendra wrote a new history. 

On that date, Devendra won the second gold medal of the Paralympics. Till date no Indian athlete has won two gold medals in Olympic or Paralympic Games. Devendra Jhajharia's record is still unbroken. Devendra Jhajharia won the gold medal in javelin throw in 2004 Athens before Rio 2016.

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Who is Devendra Jhajharia?

Devendra Jhajharia was born in a farmer family in Churu district of Rajasthan. He used to play with friends from the beginning - but only as a hobby.

In a conversation with The Hindu , Devendra told that when he was 8-9 years old, he got a strong electric shock. "I was climbing a tree in my village in Churu, Rajasthan and I unintentionally touched an 11,000 volt electric wire. The accident was so severe that I had to amputate my left hand immediately. Will I be able to recover from that accident or not? Everyone was skeptical about this.", Devendra said.

"When they brought me down from the tree, I was declared dead. My left hand was completely burnt but I slowly regained consciousness. When I took me to the doctor, he said that I would never become strong in life." I will get it. But the one above had a different wish.", Devendra said.

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In 2004, Devendra was awarded the Arjuna Award. In 2012, he was awarded the Padma Shri. He is the first Paralympian in the country to receive the Padma Shri.

Sadly, after Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal, Devendra Jhajharia's name is again in the limelight. We are all aware of the condition of sports in the country. That was not given much attention to Paralympics until a few years ago.

Devendra broke his own record in the qualifying event. He threw the javelin at a distance of 63.97 meters in Rio. In the qualifying event, he threw the javelin for a distance of 65.71 meters.

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