Strong-willed, paralifter disabled only by govt apathy

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 8

Thirty two-year-old Manpreet Kaur’s journey as a para powerlifter seems nothing short of a dream. She represented the country in several international para powerlifting championships.

Crippled due to polio, she only aspired to find a job after her education so that she could contribute to his family’s income like her three brothers. She also pursued BEd after her BCom degree despite several hurdles coming her way. Yet she wasn’t able to find a job for herself. The tides turned in her favour when Manpreet took part in para games.

It was in the year 2013, after she completed her

BEd, principal of her college (Ramgarhia College in Phagwara) told her to join para games till she finds a job. Her coach Parminder Singh and the college principal told her that if she performed well in the games, she would get a government job. Without a second thought and despite her disability, she reached the practice halls the next day after convincing her parents.

How it all began

“My journey towards my goal was not an easy one. I had no inkling about achieving success as in the initial days, I couldn’t even lift the 20kg barbel rod. But not the one to feel depressed, after a few weeks of learning the techniques, developing strength and working hard, I started lifting weights. Within a few months of my training, I started playing in the 50kg weight category and played my first national level tournament in 2013 only.

I managed to clinch a bronze medal. It gave flight to my dreams,” said Manpreet.

As nothing comes easy in life, Manpreet also went through her share of difficulties while treading the path to her success.

The distance between her home to the training hall, would seem to be never-ending. It used to drain her. Being the only woman among all the male trainees at the powerlifting training hall, this didn’t deter her from following her dreams.

Had to support her family

Crippled due to polio, she aspired to only find a job after her education so that she could contribute to her family’s income like her three brothers. She also pursued BEd after her BCom degree, despite several hurdles coming her way. Yet she wasn’t able to find a job for herself. The tides turned in her favour when Manpreet took part in para games.

After sharpening her skills, she bagged gold medals continuously from 2015-2019 in national championships and participated in five international events, including two Asian Championships that were held in Kazakhstan and Japan.

She got 13th rank in the Mexico World Championships and also cleared Olympics qualifying round in UK in 2017. She also stayed as paying guest for one year before joining camp in the Sports Authority of India, Gujarat, qualifying for the Khelo India Scheme. She is now preparing for next Paralympics.

Her early life

A resident of Dr Ambedkar Nagar (Dhadday), Manpreet is the only graduate in her family. Defying all odds, she completed her education from a local government school and graduation from Kamla Nehru College in Phagwara. She would move her wheelchair on her own for nearly 5-6 km to reach her school.

The only thing that held her back was the negligent behavior of the state government towards the players who sweat it out to bring accolades for their motherland and are later forgotten. Despite setting several milestones, not only is she jobless till now, but also hasn’t received the cash reward of the national and international matches she had won.