Indian medallist rewards parents
The parents of an Indian athlete who won silver at the Paralympics in
London will pay off outstanding loans from the money their son has
earned with his effort, reports said on Wednesday.
Nagarajegowda Hosanagara Girisha, 24, who was born with a defective
left foot, has been promised three million rupees ($53,700) dollars by
the federal sports ministry for coming second in the men's F42 high
jump.
The Paralympic Committee of India also announced a cash award of one
million rupees ($18,000).
The athlete's father Nageraje Gowda, a labourer in the southern state
of Karnataka, told local media his son's achievement meant the
350,000-rupee loan he took for his daughter's marriage and to build a
house would be repaid.
"I can now forget the struggles we went through," Gowda told the
Times of India.
"When he was a kid, the doctor told me he needed a surgery to correct
his disability but I got scared and refused.
"It was also because we could not afford the costs of the
operation... Look at him, he has made us proud with his achievement.
"We struggled to make ends meet because of the bank loan we had to
repay. But I can forget all that."
Girisha is the third Indian to win a silver medal at the Paralympics
in addition to javelin thrower Bhimrao Kesarkar and shot-putter Joginder
Singh Bedi in 1984. AFP
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