Balasore: The acclaimed 17th Century English author and translator William Ward once said, “Adversity causes some to break; others to break records”. Here is a case in point – Bapi Hansda, an 18-year-old track and field champion from Odisha, the story follows…
A few days back Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik felicitated Odisha’s track & field athlete Bapi Hansda with a cash award of ₹25 lakh for winning gold in the 400m hurdles at the 18th National Youth Athletics Championship.
With a time of 51.90 sec, Bapi is now ranked World No 1 in the U-18 age category. This is a great achievement for a tribal boy from Balasore’s Basta district, however, the journey for this young and aspiring lad has not been easy.
Being from a poor family, Bapi’s mother strived hard to raise her child. Youngest among five siblings, Bapi’s father Rabi suffers from a mental illness for the last 15 years. Since then, his mother Sukanti has been the bread earner for the family.
The woman left no stone unturned to make the ends meet at home. She made and sold ‘Handia’ at a local haat. Bapi was admitted to Dhenukhaja Primary School where he studied up to Std V and later shifted to Jajpur where his elder brother worked for a Railway contractor as a daily wager.
In the midst of all storms, Bapi’s yearning for making it big one day never faltered, rather, his resolve became impregnable. The young athlete started studying at NC High School on Jajpur Road where he shone!
Not only for the success in track and field events, Bapi also fared well academically. His performance in studies and sports found Bapi a seat at KIIT Science College in 2019. He is a student of Plus II – First Year at the same institution.
His passion for athletics was spotted by the High-Performance Centre (HPC) following which Bapi was inducted into the Kalinga Stadium in 2019. On the basis of merit, the youngster was selected by Odisha Athletics Association for participating in the 18th National Youth Athletics Championship which was held from March 10 to 12 in Udupi, Karnataka.
In the semis, Bapi (representing Odisha) was among 9 athletes from as many States. He comfortably sailed into the Finals held on March 12 and emerged victorious from among 8 participants. By covering a 400-metre track in 51. 95 seconds Bapi surprised the world.
Coming from a remote village Jhinkiria in Balasore’s Basta Block, Bapi is now ranked World No 1 in the under-18 category and has qualified for Asian Youth Athletics Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Uzbekistan in April. Congratulating Bapi for his achievement, Chief Minister Naveen lauded his dedication and hard work.
The young champion Bapi Hansda is an inspiration for budding athletes of Odisha, the Chief Minister said while awarding him with a cash award of Rs 25 lakh last week.
“Our state Odisha is replete with talented sportspersons. All that we needed was good platforms to help us set and achieve our targets, which we have today. Difficulties are part and parcel of our lives. But we all must have – the grit and a goal, to taste success,” the young athlete said.
In an tete-a-tete with Secretary to CM (5T), VK Pandian, Bapi shared his ordeal and journey so far. Sharing the video interview on Instagram, Pandian stated, “His life is a story of struggle and strength. I have seen him at the Kalinga stadium coming for practice everyday even during peak of Covid.”
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“Determination and strong Will power to fight agianst all odds and pursue his passion for running. Always smiling even behind the mask he tackled every hurdle to become a world class hurdler. Full of gratitude to all those who shaped him so far,” the 5T Secretary’s post read.
Bapi is chasing a dream of getting gold in Olympics and the Indian national anthem being played in the Olympic podium, the post further read.
