By Paritosh Pramanik
A SPORTSPERSON’S life is full of sacrifices, turbulence, hardships and difficulties. There are inspiring stories which show the valour and determination of how medal-winning athletes are made after overcoming difficult hurdles. Same is the story of high jumper Abhay Gurav, who has passed through a lot of turbulence at the age of just 19 but got over it to start a golden journey in athletics.
Gurav, a native of Khondamali village, 15 kms from Nandurbar district, won his maiden gold medal on Tuesday at the state junior athletics championship under way
at Nagpur.
Flashing his maiden gold medal, Gurav was all smiles at the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University’s Sports Complex. He left all his troubles behind for a while and was soaked in this moment of joy.
A leap of 2.03 metres in U-20 boys category fetched Gurav the gold that, in his own words, “is the best thing to happen in his life so far.”
Gurav has previously won gold in the school games’ athletics meet at Karad and silver at the Nashik state level meet. But this medal is more important as it has opened the gates to the Maharashtra athletics team.
At 5.5 ft in height, no one would believe that Gurav could perform this better in a sport like high jump. But the 19-year-old athlete has proved everybody wrong with his gold winning feat.
Gurav’s life is full of hardships and difficulties. He lost his mother when he was just one year old. He missed a state championship a couple of years back because his father had a bad fall and went into coma. Though he went for the state meet after admitting his father to the hospital, he could not participate because he reported at the venue 20 minutes late.
Living with his paternal aunt, Gurav had to spare time from his studies to work at a cloth shop or in cotton farms to make ends meet. Despite all these turbulences, a determined Gurav has made it a point to excel in sports and find a decent job in Army to take care of his family.
“After I lost my mother, I was sent to an orphanage in Wavdade village in Jalgaon district by my uncle. A few years later my aunt took me to her home,” said Gurav.
The difficult days did not stop there. With family’s financial condition not that sound, Gurav immediately understood the challenges of life. At a very tender age, he started working at a shop, which makes turbans in Nandurbar.
“I have to feed a family which has an ailing father, a brother and an aunt. I decided to work at the shop to earn livelihood. From Khondamali village I daily travel to Nandurbar in bus. My day starts at 5.30 am as I go to Nandurbar for practice. After practising till 10 am, I go to Yashwant Vidyalaya where I study (12th Commerce). After college I go to the shop and work for a few hours and then return home by 3.30-4 pm,” said Gurav about his daily routine.
Living at a remote place, Gurav does not have proper training facilities what athletes at metros usually get.
“I started with long jump but then shifted to high jump on my coach Mayur Thakre’s insistence. There are no facilities for high jump in my village. I used to erect makeshift bars and jump over them. There were sacks of cotton on which I used to fall as the surface was too hard. There is one mat in Nandurbar but officials do not give it to me. They say it is not possible to provide the mat and poles for only one player. Somehow I have to manage with whatever resources I have,” lamented Gurav.
As this is his Board exam year and he had to participate in the junior state meet, Gurav gave up his job at the cloth store. “It was not possible to get leave from the shop as I also had to come to Nagpur for this meet. Hence, I decided to leave the job. To make ends meet I go to sell ‘bel patta’ (Bel leaves) at Nandurbar thrice a week. In return, I get some rice, jowar etc. It’s like a barter system,” mentioned Gurav.
It’s the will power and determination to excel in high jump that brought Gurav this far. The members of Gurav tribe were also very kind to fund him.
“My Gurav tribe members
help me financially a lot. They provide us with a financial aid every month with which I somehow manage to feed my family. My tours are sponsored by Thakre sir. He looks after my needs on the field,” Gurav proudly said.
High jump is not an easy sport and needs a lot of technical training. Gurav could not get the best of training at his village. However, he has learnt the tricks of trade through YouTube.
“I watch high jump competitions on YouTube. How to run, to take a jump, how to time the jump and all technicalities…I learned watching on YouTube,” informed Gurav.
“If I get a job in Army I will be financially secured. Getting a job is my first priority. But for that, I will have to keep winning medals. Only then my performance would be noticed,” he said adding, “there is an Army recruitment in Jabalpur next month and I will start preparing for it from tomorrow.”
Gurav has timed his jump well to win his maiden gold at the junior meet. Only time will tell how high he can take his leap in life.
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