Varun of Noida will show his glory in the Tokyo Paralympics: Polio snatched his leg, was thrown out of the basketball school team for being weak, still did not give up

Para-athlete Varun Singh Bhati, who hails from Noida in Uttar Pradesh, will compete in the high jump event at the Tokyo Paralympics from August 24. At the age of 6 months, Varun lost one leg due to polio. Varun had decided in the sixth grade that he would make his future in sports. He started playing basketball. Won many medals in state level sports. But he was thrown out of basketball because he could not beat the big players. It was a tough time for Varun.

After this Varun started sweating for the high jump. Instead of being grateful for his age, he made high jump his strength. Rio Paralympics 2016 bronze medalist Varun is now a strong contender for India’s high jump gold at the Tokyo Paralympics.

The leg was paralyzed by polio in just 6 months. – File

School coach motivated to play again
Varun says that in childhood polio damaged one of my legs. Couldn’t even walk well and God made sports my hobby. While studying at St. Joseph’s School, he started playing basketball. This hobby connected me with sports. Due to a broken leg, I had to work twice as hard as the other players. Had to be more focused. He often fell among tall players, could not score quickly, but the one who scored the goal was accurate.

Varun told Bhaskar that he played basketball till the state level, won many medals. Later I was dropped from the team for being polio affected. Our seniors said that I will not be able to beat the big players due to a bad leg. That day I felt my physical deficiency for the first time. I felt sorry for myself that I could not do anything. Been in depression. Then school coach Manish sir inspired me to play again. Sir knew my game, he saw that my jump is very good while putting the ball in the basket. From there I joined the high jump.

Varun has been awarded the Arjuna Award. – File

Learn to jump from a target of half a foot
Varun says Basketball was my favorite game, after leaving it it was very difficult to join high jump. The technique and preparation of both the games are different. Basketball where you have to jump to throw the ball, but high jump where you have to jump over the target. was very difficult. Initially, the target jumped half a foot high. Between the target for hours, both the legs would be stuck back and forth. Trying to jump over bricks or something at home. Only this hard work kept me going and reached Rio. Meanwhile, broke his own records, also won medals.

Varun Bhati’s Sports Journey