Dhol, sweets, Yogesh Kathuniya’s kin break into celebrations in Bahadurgarh

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, August 30

Kin of 24-year-old Bahadurgarh lad Yogesh Kathuniya, who won a silver medal in the men’s discus throw event at the Tokyo Paralympics on Monday, celebrated the achievement by dancing to dhol beats and distributing sweets.

Yogesh is the youngest among three siblings and her both elder sisters are married. His father Gyan Singh is a retired honorary Captain from the Army and his grandfather Hukum Singh has also served as Naib Subedar.

In 2017, Yogesh started playing discus throw while pursuing BCom from a Delhi-based college and proved his mettle in Paralympics merely within four years. “We were so excited to watch Yogesh’s game live on television that we couldn’t sleep last night. He fulfilled his promise by winning the silver medal and gave us all a reason to cheer. He will be accorded a warm welcome on his return,” said Hukum Singh.

Pooja, elder sister of Yogesh, said his brother talked to them on video call after winning the medal. “He seemed a little disappointed as he wanted to win the gold medal. His silver medal is like gold for us as no other member of our family has achieved such a feat. We boosted his morale and motivated him to keep this momentum in coming tournaments as well,” she added.

Meanwhile, Meena Devi, Yogesh’s mother, said he was just nine when he suffered a paralytic attack in 2006. He hands and feet stopped working. “Next three years, he went to the school on a wheelchair but we did not give up hope and always motivated him to fight the disease. He underwent physiotherapy for a long time and toiled hard to recover. Finally, he succeeded and stood up on his feet,” she added.