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GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 27
Seventeen years ago, Veena Arora lost her right hand due to negligence on the part of doctors. Soon after, she suffered another jolt when her husband left her and their child. But she didn’t lose hope.
Against all odds, she managed to carve a niche for herself in para-sports and put Amritsar on the global map.
Today, she has to her credit scores of medals in international and national paralympic championships.
With no assistance from the state government or district administration, Veena (42) ran a block printing business to make both ends meet.
“In 2000, I saw the worst phase of my life. I was just 25 years old. My right hand had to be amputated as I had developed gangrene due to wrong prescription. I got another shock when my husband left me and our three-year-old son.
“I had to shift back to my parents’ home. It took me some time to rebuild my will power. As I had lost my right hand, I practiced hard to do household chores with my left hand.
“I restarted my studies in 2007 and completed BCom. My father and brothers supported me. Now, my son is now studying BTech (computer science),” Veena said.
About her interest in sports, she said, “In 2010, I came across a person at New Delhi who inspired me to try special sports. I never knew about para-sports. It took me two years to build my confidence and I took admission at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to undergo training.”
There was no looking back after that. In 2013, she pocketed the gold medal in shot put in the Delhi State Paralympic Tournament, followed by gold and silver medals in shot put and discus throw at the 14th National Senior Athletics Championship.
In 2014, she represented India in the eighth Grand Prix in Tunisia and qualified for the Asian Games. In 2016, she got silver medals in javelin and discus throw in the 16th National Para Athletic Championship. Thereafter, she got training in taekwondo and won a bronze in Para Tae Kwon Do Asian Championship in 2016.
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