Devendra Jhajharia Biography
Devendra Jhajharia one of the shining names that won Gold medal for this country this year. The athlete, Devendra participated and won the 2nd Gold medal for this country and 3rd for him in Rio Paralympics 2016 in Javelin Throw. The man has lost his left hand when he was only 8 years old. But that certainly didn’t stop him for achieving such international recognition. It was the first time in the mentioned field when an Indian won the gold medal, though this is the second time Devendra had won gold medal for India. A father of two and husband of a national level Kabaddi player, Devendra has made all the Indian proud by his performance in Paralympics this year.
Early Life
- Devendra was born and brought up in Rajasthan. He was an active boy since childhood. At the age of only 8 years when he tried to climb the tree, he got electrified by the cable near the tree. He had to undergo a surgery where he lost an important portion of his left hand.
- He didn’t stop there. He kept practicing different games when he was studying in school. He was first noticed by an ace sportsman R.D. Singh who was also a Dronacharya Award winner. He started training Devendra as he found an extremely passionate sportsman spirit in him.
- In the year 2004 when Devendra won his first gold medal in Paralympics he took his trainer’s name at the first place and gave the entire credit to Mr. R. D. Singh.
- He was a railway employee but left the job for sports. He married to a former national level Kabaddi player. They have two kids of age 6 and 2 years.
Achievements
- Devendra was a sportsman since his school days. He had participated in several games and sports state level and national level before 2002 when he won his first gold medal in Korea in FESPIC games.
- After that he participated in Summer Paralympics after two years and again he won the Gold medal for his country. This time along with gold medal he also made a world record of throwing at a distance of 62.15 m.
- In 2013 he participated in IPC world championship in France and he didn’t fail to win another Gold medal for the country there as well.
- Following that in 2014 he won Silver in Asian Para games and again in 2015 he won another Silver medal in IPC world championship in Doha.
- In 2016 the man again left everyone open mouthed and won another Gold medal in Paralympics in Rio. This is his third gold medal for the country and 2nd for the Paralympics.
- In 2016 IPC world championship in Dubai, he again won a gold medal for javelin throw.
Paralympics
He has participated couple of times in Paralympics and both the times he had earned Gold for his country. First time when he was chosen for Summer Paralympics in Athens, he not only won a gold medal but also set a world record distance at that point of time in 2004.
After 12 years he again participated in Paralympics in Rio and won the gold medal again leaving everyone behind. He himself broke his 2004 record this year by setting a distance of 63.97 m.
Inspiration
Only at the age of 8 he lost a portion of his left hand. It wasn’t easy for a child to survive like that. He completed his schooling, college and studies and got a job in Railways. But he chose to pursuit his career in sports that too in javelin throw that needs immense body balance and power. Losing a hand and then having an amazing career in sports definitely inspires the entire humankind.
Devendra Jhajharia- Quick View
| Name | Devendra Jhajharia |
| Age | 35 |
| DOB | 10th June 1981 |
| Place | Rajasthan |
| Spouse | Manju Jhajharia |
| Children | Two |
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