Para-javelin thrower Jhajharia was on verge of quitting in 2013

Jhajharia, 40, won his first gold in 2004 Athens Paralympics and then had to wait for another 12 years for his second yellow metal in 2016 Rio Games. “When my event was not included in 2008 Paralympics, I said OK it will be in 2016. But when it was not there again in 2012, I thought I should quit the sport. This was in 2013,” Jhajharia said.

Double Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia on Tuesday said he was on the verge of quitting the sport after his pet event was excluded from the 2008 and 2012 editions but his wife convinced him to keep going.

Jhajharia, 40, won his first gold in 2004 Athens Paralympics and then had to wait for another 12 years for his second yellow metal in 2016 Rio Games. “When my event was not included in 2008 Paralympics, I said OK it will be in 2016. But when it was not there again in 2012, I thought I should quit the sport. This was in 2013,” Jhajharia said.

“But my wife said I should not do it and can play till 2016. So, I changed my plan and in 2013, I got to know that my event will be there in the Rio Paralympics. Then I started training at SAI Center in Gandhinagar and won my second gold in 2016 Rio.”

Jhajharia said he had faced taunts from people when he started his sport. “When I was nine years old, I lost my hand [due to electrocution]. When I pulled javelin at my school, there were taunts that I had to deal with. People asked how will I throw a javelin, they told me there is no place for me in sports, it’s better to study and try and get a good job. Then I decided that I will not be weak. In life I have learnt that when there is a challenge in front of us then you are close to achieving success. So, I took it as a challenge.”

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