The 2019 World Para Athletics Championship and 2018 Asian Para Games bronze medalist, Vinay Kumar, is now working in a private call centre at Mohali to support his family.
Chandigarh's 22-year-old Vinay Kumar lost his father to Covid-19 earlier this year. The para-athlete tried to seek help from the Chandigarh administration in vain and had to join a call centre at a salary of Rs 10,000 per month to earn his livelihood.
Speaking to ANI, Kumar said that he had to take up a call centre job due to family responsibilities after his father's demise. "Since 2018, I have been visiting Chandigarh Sports Council office for my rewards but to no avail," he stated.
"I was inspired by the movie 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and have been in athletics since then. I qualified for the first round of Paralympics but with the sudden demise of my father, I couldn't go further," he added.
Kumar further said that he is now preparing for Asian Youth Para Games for which he juggles between the call centre and taxi driver job. "Due to a tough schedule, I get to sleep only for 2-3 hours," he stated.
The para-athlete suffering from lower limp polio in his left leg has won several international events such as a gold and a silver medal in the 2017 China Open Para Grandprix, a gold and a silver medal in 2017 Youth Para Asian Games in Dubai, two gold medals in 2018 Open Para Athletics Championship in Tunis, a bronze medal in 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia, a silver medal in 2019 Open World Para Athletics Championship in Paris and a bronze medal in 2019 World Para Athletics Championship in Dubai.
( With inputs from ANI )
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