Odd Jobs to Pay for Olympic Practices

Special Olympics is one of the biggest sports events organized by International Olympics Committee (IOC) for both children and adults with intellectual or physical disabilities, which provides opportunities for people with disabilities to show their capabilities on an international stage. One of the champions of the event, Rajkumar Tiwari, representing India in ice skating has previously made us proud, with gold medal

However, recently he was seen doing odd jobs in several parts of the country and other nations as well. The reason was not known at first, then people learned that he was doing the odd jobs to financially back his practice. Rajkumar Tiwari is the lone gold medalist and also won silver in Paris at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in 2013. Son of newspaper vender Multani Dhanda, he has been selling newspapers, cleaning dishes at Indian restaurants in USA, or convincing consumer to buy imitation jewellery to fund his certification course in figure skating in San Jose. Even to pay for his routine training at the only skating mall in NCR has been difficult for Tiwari

From 2014, he has been competing for the normal category in the international competitions, after undergoing treatment and therapy sessions. The lack of fund, has already cut off his chances in 2 important tournaments of this year, Cup of Tyrol in Austria and Bosphorus Cup in Turkey. Participation in the next 5 big games of the year also demands 16-18 lakhs, which, Tiwari is likely to miss which are to be held respectively in China, Croatia, Germany, Canada and USA. Rajkumar aims to qualify for next year’s World Championship in Montreal, Canada, which will later help in the selection of World Winter Games in Beijing 2022. His struggles for funds has been brought forward to sports minister Kiren Rijiju, who has promised to look after his funds and also with he being eligible for National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), have raised a distant hope for the champion in his next tournament.

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