CHENNAI: At the tender age of five, Bhavesh Bhatt met with a weird accident while playing with his friends in Uttarakhand. He and his friends were playing with a broom and accidentally it pierced his eyes. Despite financial constraints, father Kishan took him to AIIMS in Delhi but doctors could only manage to save partial vision in Bhavesh’s right eye.
The tragic incident was a precursor to more hardships but Bhavesh refused to give up. Instead, he not only continued with his studies but also forayed into sports to make a name for himself. The hard work paid rich dividends as he became the first gold medallist of the 20th edition of the National Para Athletics Championship, which began in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
Bhavesh won the gold in 1500m in the T13 class. Athletes with a T13/F13 sport class have the least severe vision impairment. “I was sent to a small stadium in our vicinity by my parents in 2019 as they felt it will keep me away from boredom,” the 19-year-old told this daily after finishing on top of the podium. But it was not easy as he undertook trials with able-bodied athletes and finished last in every race.
He had competed in a few cross-country races at the local level but the ongoing event is Bhavesh’s first nationals. “Qualifying for the 2022 Para-Asian Games and winning a medal there is my target. My father is a small shopkeeper and we are in debt of around Rs 7-8 lakh. I strongly believe an international medal will help me in writing off the debt,” Bhavesh said.