AGRA: Hailing from a remote village in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, Pushpendra Singh, who developed leg deformities at the age of three, clinched the bronze medal in the mens javelin event at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The 23-year-old, the youngest of five siblings, made it to the podium with a throw of 62.06 metres.In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded his achievement. "Congratulations to Pushpendra Singh on the bronze medal in the Mens Javelin F64 event at the Asian Para Games. His exceptional performance, focus and will to win have brought immense honour to our nation," he said.Pushpendras family did not realise he had the deformity until he turned three. It wasnt evident when he was crawling on his fours as an infant, but he could barely walk as he grew older. His father Jugendra Yadav, a farmer in Bhalaul village, had always dreamt that all his sons would join the Army, but that wasnt to be. All his three elder brothers are faujis. Jugendra said, "Pushpendra took up javelin just three years ago. A coach noticed the exceptional strength in his arms while he was playing cricket - it was the way he threw the ball and ran out four batters." The coach introduced him to javelin and there has been no looking back for Pushpendra ever since. "We used to worry as he didnt focus on his studies while growing up. But seeing his dedication and hard work, we were convinced that he would make it big someday." Mother Sarvesha Devi had tears in her eyes as she narrated the ordeal the family faced bringing up Pushpendra and trying to get him in shape. She said, "He could hardly move when he was a child. We took him to the best of doctors we could afford in Delhi and neighbouring districts. They said that he would never be able to move on his own."

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