Hello sir, my name is Navdeep,” said the athlete in an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even before the javelin thrower could add more, the PM knew who he was. “Iss baar jinki reels sabse jyada popular hui. (One of those whose reels got popular this time),” the Prime Minister said, adding, “One of them is you and the other one is Sheetal Devi (Para Archer who won the bronze medal).” The whole contingent of medal winners from the Paris Paralympics in the ‘meet & greet’ event, including sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Devendra Jhajharia, President of the Paralympic Committee of India, could not control their laughter.
The PM was talking about the viral video from the Paralympics, where Navdeep was seen celebrating aggressively following his triumph in the men’s javelin F41 event that initially won him a silver. “Have you seen your video? How do you perform with such aggression,” the PM asked Navdeep Singh, to which he had a valid reply. “Last time (Tokyo Paralympics), I finished fourth. Before leaving for Paris, I had promised you, it has been fulfilled.” The video had the choice of words that cannot be retold.
Every individual entering the grand Paralympic stage has their own inspiring tales to tell. One common thread that binds them all is their extraordinary spirit to rise from the depths of despair to fulfilment of a dream through sports. Navdeep has a story too. His life too was a triumph over his challenges. He was taunted for his stature, so much so that he was hesitant to step out. However, things changed after he joined athletics.
The gold medal did not come easy for the young athlete hailing from Buana Lakhara in Haryana’s Panipat district. In the final, Navdeep started with a foul, which he was not happy about. Even at the Paralympics, he had his doubts. However, his coach egged him on. What followed was beyond Navdeep’s imagination. “I really have no idea how I managed to hit 47 (metres). Maybe my coach wasn’t telling me the truth when I was training (laughs),” he said after the medal ceremony. At 4 feet 4 inches, Navdeep may not be too tall, but he has a great sense of humour and is a mimicry exponent.
“In training, I have hit 41-42 metres. My first attempt was foul, but the coach said don’t worry. I think my second throw went for just above 46. I was not able to see how much I threw. I asked my coach, and was quite surprised when he told me 46 metres. But somehow, I thought I didn’t even put in my best in that throw. I was hopeful that may be, I have one more better throw in me.” And better he did, with his personal best of the season.
Like his life, the medal, however, came with its twists and turns. With a throw of 47.32m, he finished second behind Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah. Later, Navdeep’s silver was upgraded to gold because Sayah was disqualified for waving a flag of a religious nature. “I was surprised,” Navdeep told media, “The moment they showed a red card to the Iranian player, he started crying. As a sportsman, I tried to calm him down by hugging him.” “Then it was obvious that because I was second in line, my silver got converted into gold. At the end of the day, a gold gives your country a different identity. I was able to contribute to that, it makes me happy.”
Navdeep’s coach Sunil Tanwar simplified the approach behind his success. The coach believed the 23-year-old could go past his personal best and instilled the same in the mind of the young athlete. “I felt like he had that capacity. He had good strength and speed,” said Tanwar in the interaction shared by the PCI. “I told him you have good strength. You don’t need that much strength, but you have to be technically sound. We focused on getting better in that department and the result is for all to see. I asked him what his best throw was, and then decided that we had to better it in the Games.”
After reaching the pinnacle of his event on the global stage, Navdeep remembered his father Dalbir Singh, a wrestler himself, who helped his son navigate the hard path. He credited his father with introducing him to sports and standing tall behind him always until javelin became his soul.
Now that he has won gold, Navdeep said he would like to tell the world, “People like us too exist.”