KAPIL CREATES HISTORY WITH BRONZE

From being electrocuted in his teen to running tea kiosk to finishing on podium at Paris Paralympics: Story of visually challenged judoka from Madhya Pradesh

- FIROZ MIRZA

KAPIL Parmar was only 15 when he got electrocuted while switching on a water pump in his village, Murli, Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh. Such was the impact of the electrocution that a few fingers of both his hands got stuck with each other. It also affected his retinas partially (40 per cent) but as he aged Kapil lost 80 per cent vision.

The tragedy, however, couldn't dampen his spirits as he found solace in judo for the visually impaired. But it was not easy as his father Ram Singh Parmar, who was a taxi driver, was forced to give up his job due to a kidney infection making Kapil and his elder brother Lalit start a tea kiosk on the Bhopal highway in 2019. Despite obstacles and financial constraints, Kapil didn't give up judo. It paid rich dividends as on Thursday, 24year-old Kapil became the country's first-ever Paralympic medallist in judo, winning a bronze in the men's -60kg (J1) after convincingly defeating Brazil's Elielton de Oliveira in the play-off in Paris.

The J1 class in para judo is for athletes who suffer from no to very low visual activity. Athletes in this category wear red circles to indicate that they may need guided support before, during and after a contest.