Sundar Singh Gurjar

Started: He began throwing the javelin in 2012. He took up Para athletics in 2015 after recovering from his accident. (espn.co.uk, 26 Mar 2017; Hindustan Times, 30 Mar 2016) Reason: He competed in wrestling when he was younger, like his father and his brother. He was later spotted by a coach at a wrestling competition, who encouraged him to take up athletics. Following his accident he was introduced to Para athletics by RD Singh, who ran a training centre in Hanumangarh, India. "I thought it was the end of my sporting career. Then I met RD Singh and within a month I was back training." (espn.in, 01 Jun 2018; Hindustan Times, 30 Mar 2016) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (sportstar.thehindu.com, 06 Sep 2021) Awards: In 2019 he received the Arjuna Award in India. (Office of Kiren Rijiju X profile, 18 Nov 2019) He was named the 2017 Differently Abled Athlete of the Year by ESPN India. (espn.in, 01 Jun 2018) He was named Sportsman of the Championship at the 2016 National Championships in Gurgaon, India. (tribuneindia.com, 31 Mar 2016) Additional Info: TRAINING DURING PANDEMIC While most athletes were forced to train at home during the COVID-19 pandemic he remained at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, and lived at the stadium's in-built hostel for four months so he could keep training. "I didn't want to sit at home and wait for things to happen. So, I made a request to our [state sports] minister and he allowed me to use the hostel." (paralympic.org, 26 Sep 2020; rediff.com, 30 Jul 2020) OCCUPATION He works in the forest department of the Rajasthan state government in India. (Facebook page, 15 Aug 2023; sportstar.thehindu.com, 06 Sep 2021)