At the Rashtrapati Bhavan, there were several heartwarming moments at the national sports awards, including a mother on her maiden trip and a kabaddi spouse showing off his boxer wife’s trophy.
When Thulasimathi Murugesan was given the Arjuna award by the President of India on Friday at Rashtrapati Bhavan, her parents wanted to clap with their hands. However, mother Viji and father Murugesan forgot the brief and started crying with happiness.
It was heartwarming for the ecstatic parents to see their daughter, a silver medalist shuttler in the Paralympics, come down the Ganatantra Mandap hallway wearing the unique maroon blazer. Thulasimathi and her younger sister Kiruttigha call Murugesan, a former daily wage worker who is now a coach, the “Dangal father” because of his role as a taskmaster. An invitation to the president’s official mansion will always be a treasured memory for the family of four who originally resided in a straw shack that burned down every summer.
There were joyful scenes of selfies with the bronze statuettes, shining sportsmen in the ceremonial garb, and parents with teary eyes and proud hearts on the day that India’s sporting stars were honored—a record 17 para-athletes received the Arjuna award. Whole families celebrated, just like the Kanchipuram Murugesans.
When the president presented Thulasimathi with the Arjuna award, I started crying. Clinging to the citation certificate, Murugesan remarked, “I couldn’t contain my tears.” It was his wife Viji’s first time flying when they took the journey to Delhi.
“Since childhood I have seen many legendary athletes getting this award. This is a special moment. I thank my dad who is also my coach. My sister and I call him ‘Dangal father’. Whether we won or lost, he would wake up at 5 am and take us to the stadium,” Thulasimathi said.
She and her sister Kiruttigha first played badminton using racquets that came free with the nutritional drink Boost. They later switched to Complan. Their father saved his daily wage for the diet and education of his two daughters.
He got criticised by relatives because they felt he was foolish not to buy gold for their marriages. “Our father was determined that we should be able to choose our own path. Today there are people coming home to honour him,” Kiruttigha, a former national school games squash champion, said.
Navdeep Singh, a gold medallist in the javelin at the Paris Paralympics, was ecstatic to have realized his late father Dalbir Singh’s goal. Seven months ago, the athlete from Panipat’s Buana Lakhu village lost his father. Days prior to Navdeep’s bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships in May of last year, Dalbir had been ill. His son won gold in Paris four months later, but he didn’t survive long enough to witness it.
For the big day, Navdeep’s mother Mukesh Rani and older brother Mandeep traveled to the city.
“To purchase Navdeep’s first javelin, our father obtained a loan of Rs 1 lakh through a Bima policy,” Mandeep, Navdeep’s elder brother, stated. Due to the impoverished family’s inability to support two athletes, boxer Mandeep left school.
Grandfather Rishi Pal was with Preethi Pal, who won two bronze medals at the Paralympics in the 100- and 200-meter events. Rishi, a PWD road work supervisor from Hashampur in Muzaffarnagar, only remembers visiting the Red Fort’s exterior walls during his last trip to Delhi.
“My granddaughter has brought pride to the family and the country,” Rishi remarked. “Pothi ne poore parivaar aur desh naam roshan kar diya.” He vowed to call coworkers and neighbors who wanted to watch the awards ceremony on TV, but he never did because of the no-phone policy. “I will captivate them with tales of our journey to Delhi when I return,” he declared.
Vantika Agarwal, a gold medallist in the chess Olympiad, her mother Sangeeta and father Ashish are standing a few feet away from the grandfather and granddaughter. On the day that they both passed the CA test, Ashish proposed to Sangeeta. Sangeeta sacrificed a successful and fulfilling career to accompany Vantika to a chess tournament.
I resigned in order to help her. I have traveled to every event for more than ten years,” Sangeeta stated. In order to prepare meals for Vantika, a vegetarian who has a yearning for roti-sabzi, Sangeeta totes a “travelling kitchen.” “She loves taking bhindee (ladies’ fingers), so I started doing it,” Sangeeta remarked.
Without the help of her mother, who travels with Vantika, she would not have progressed this far. “Today is fantastic, and I’m proud to be recognized by the government. My mother gave up her career to support me.” She provides amazing moral support. Her absence makes me feel lonely. I talk to her about the game after a win or a loss, and she gets how I feel,” Vantika remarked.
A trainer and coach also reveled in their success. Swapnil Kusale, a rifle shooter who won bronze at the Paris Olympics, received the Arjuna award, while Deepali Deshpande, his teacher, received the Dronacharya award. Swapnil remarked, “My coach was also recognized, so it is a special day for me.
Currently, the boxer Saweety Boora and former kabaddi captain Deepak Hooda have two Arjuna awards at home.
Deepak, the 2020 winner, witnessed his wife Saweety get the award for the second time in the president’s official house. They were married in 2022 after meeting as chief guests at the Haryana Marathon ten years prior. Deepak felt sentimental. “My wife Saweety’s victory today made me feel more proud than my own earlier win.”
