Click to play videoJalandhar: When the President of India confers the Arjuna Awards on India's top sportsmen in New Delhi on Tuesday, one name that many will struggle to place is Rajinder Singh Rahelu.
The 33-year-old Para-Olympian has fought not just of his own destiny but also an indifferent government to reach the pinnacle of sporting achievement
Rajinder Singh Rahelu still remembers the time when he was turned away from Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh's office.
And his plea for a job in the sports department fell on deaf ears. The Arjuna Award has healed some of those wounds but even today the eight- time national power lifting champion is a bitter man.
"Punjab Government se mujhe abhi tak to koi bhi reponse nahi mila. Maine abhi tak jo job ki application de thi us per koi gaur nahi kiya. Rozgar ke naam per mere pass ek 1000 rupaiye ki job hai (I have not received and response from the Punjab Government. My application for a job was also overlooked. I am employed for a monthly salary of Rs 1,000)," Rajinder says.
Born in a dalit family his father Rattan Singh was a bandmaster and his mother worked as a maid.
Polio struck when Rajinder was just eight months old but that did not stop him from dreaming big.
In 1996 Rajinder decided to he would be a power lifter and within two years he won his first national championship and from then on there was no looking back.
The crowning glory was a bronze at the Athens Paralympics in 2004.
But despite these achievements, he has been working as a temporary teacher in a Mehsampur government school for a monthly salary of Rs 1,000.
"We are very happy that in spite of handicap he won the Arjuna Award but government must give him job. We will marry him after he gets a good job," Rajinder's father Rattan Singh says.
Not just his family but also the entire village is celebrating their hero's success but they also want the state government to support him.
Rajinder is now preparing for Asian Games in November this year. So stand up and applaud when President Kalam awards the Arjuna to a remarkable champion.
(With inputs from Naresh Arora)
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
