Amit Kumar Saroha

Amit Kumar Saroha

Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1985-01-12) 12 January 1985
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Para Athletics (Discus and Club throw)
Medal record Track and field (para athletics) Representing  India IPC Athletics World Championships 2015 Doha Men's Club Throw - F51 Asian Para Games 2014 Incheon Men's Club Throw - F51 2014 Incheon Men's Discus Throw - F51 2010 Guangzhou Men's Discus Throw - F51

Amit Kumar Saroha is a Paralympian, Asian Para Games medalist and an Arjuna Awardee,^[1] competing in the F51 category in Discus throw and Club throw. He is one of India's top Para athletes and the first quadriplegic to represent India at a Paralympic Games (London 2012). He currently trains at the Sports Authority of India in Sonipat and is being supported by the GoSports Foundation^[2] ahead of his quest to win a medal for India at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Early Life and Background

Born in Haryana in 1985, Amit suffered a car accident when he was 22, causing him to become a quadriplegic due to compression of the spinal cord. Before his injury, Amit was a national level hockey player. However, his tryst with fame as a sportsperson happened after his injury when he met Jonathan Sigworth, an American wheelchair rugby player on a tour of India to promote para sports. Wheelchair rugby introduced Amit to the world of para sports and he joined Sigworth in promoting wheelchair rugby across India.^[3]

While playing in a demonstration match of wheelchair rugby with a Brazilian team, he met several para-athletes from across the world and learnt the official Paralympic nomenclature for his injury - F 51. Amit decided to take training in sports which require upper body strength and started competing in throw ball and discus throw; he has not looked back since.

Career

In 2010 Amit took part in his first Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, where he won a silver medal in Discus throw, one of only 14 other medals won by Indians. Two years later, Amit won a Gold medal in the Olympic qualifier event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, breaking the Asian record along the way. This helped Amit rise to third in the world rankings, and also earned him his first Paralympic games qualification (London 2012).^[4] The following year, Amit was conferred the Arjuna Award by the President of India, in recognition of his outstanding sporting achievements.^[5]

At the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, Korea, Amit won two medals for India; a Gold in Club throw with a distance of 21.31 m and a Silver in Discus throw with a distance of 9.89 m. His club throw distance was another Asian record, and the medal winning performance earned him an automatic qualification for Rio 2016.

Confident from his exploits at the 2014 Asian Para Games, Amit arrived at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, as one of the favorites. He lived up to his reputation, winning Silver medal in Club throw and bettering his previous Asian Games mark by over 4 metres to register a throw of 25.44 m.^[6]

Apart from being an athlete, Amit is also a big promoter of the paralympic movement in the country. He is a motivational speaker for the youth and has been invited to speak across prestigious institutions like IIT Guwahati (Chief Guest) and BITS, Pilani.

References