Determination and self belief has enabled para-athlete Anandan Gunasekaran, winner of two medals at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta, to overcome challenges.
“My joy knew no bounds after having won medals for the country. Credit goes to the Indian Army which stood by me,” Mr. Anandan, a Subedar with the Indian Army’s Madras Engineer Group and Centre, Bengaluru, told The Hindu over phone. He bagged a silver medal in 400 meter and a bronze medal in 200 meter in the T44/T62/64 classification.
The 31-year-old, hailing from Kumbakonam, joined the Army in 2005. While on duty near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in 2008, he lost his left leg in a landmine blast.
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Mr. Anandan, who runs with the aid of a prosthetic blade, has won medals at the international-level para athletics meets, including 400 meter silver at the 2017 World Para Athletics Grand Prix and 400 meter gold and 200 meter silver at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships.
He said he went to Jakarta with determination to win medals in three events (100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter), four years after missing out on a podium finish at the 2014 Asian Para Games at Incheon, South Korea. “It would have been great had I won medals in all the three events I competed. But still, I am elated with the two I have got,” said Mr. Anandan, who trains at the Army Sports Institute, Pune, under coach Mohammed Kunhi. Mr. Anandan, who also counts much on family support, dedicated the medals to his twin babies.
He has set his sights on the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships and 2020 Paralympics.
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