Bolangir: Physical or mental challenges may act as impediments but cannot prevent someone from achieving what he or she is determined to do. Examples to testify this are replete. One such case which has made Odisha and the country proud is Bolangir’s Baishnab Rajpalia’s performance at the Special Olympics held in Berlin recently.
A native of Tikrapada village in Saintala block of Bolangir, Baishnab has won Silver in shotput throw – Level C in World Games Special Olympics Berlin 2023. Today, he is an inspiration to many.
Born into a poor family, Baishnab was mentally challenged by birth. His parents Bhuban and Kasturi Rajpalia, and five sisters have always been of great support to the young lad who excelled at district-level, state-level and national-level competitions.
His performance saw him qualify to participate in the National Training Camp and Competition held in Muzaffarnagar in 2018. A student of the Red Cross School for Handicapped in Saintala. His talent was spotted by Special Olympics’ national-level coach and special educator Umakant Sarangi.
Along with studies, under the guidance of Sarangi, Baishnab paid special attention to sports for which the district and state are proud today. He performed exceedingly well at the National level practice camp and got selected for the Special Olympics in three categories.
It was a big day for the country when Baishnab Rajpalia became the first Indian to win a silver medal in the shot put event at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. He won the medal in the M01 category. The Indian star competed with players from Chile, Thailand, Madagascar, Belgium, the Cayman Islands, and the Dominican Republic.
The 17-year-old registered a throw of 7.72m in the first attempt. His numbers increased in the second attempt to reach 8.38m. However, Didier Caceres had a throw of 8.75m. Though he failed to better his second attempt, it was enough to clinch the gold medal.
The Indian athlete’s best throw came in Attempt 3, where he had an 8.44m throw. He is only the second athlete to throw over 8m in this edition. The young lad from Odisha has set an example that determination and grit is the key to success – impediments come and go, and success is permanent!
