Olympians work hard, dedicate their lives to win the medal for the country. It is well known and bitter truth in India that they are not provided facilities like Olympians of any other countries get. The government’s apathy against them is not hidden in India. Time to time, we get to hear that Olympians are selling their medals to earn their livelihood, to run their families.
And the latest Olympian whose condition in spite of winning a medal for the country isn’t good at all. He is 17-year-old Rajbir Singh, a resident of Ludhiana in Punjab. Ranbir had won two gold medals for India in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. Now the medallist had to turn into a laborer to meet his needs.
Rajbir had won medals in the 1 km and 2 km cycling events 2-years back in Los Angeles with suffering from ‘below average intellectual and adaptive functioning’. A businessman donated him a cycle and within just a month he trained himself to win the medal.
Rajbir was promised for Rs. 15 lakh by the SAD-BJP government in Punjab which he is yet to receive after two years. Also, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announced an additional Rs. 1 lakh which is also yet to be received. In addition, Rs. 10 lakh was promised by the Union Government which is also not given him to date.
An NGO comes to the rescue of Rajbir. The founder of NGO Manukhta Di Sewa, Gurpreet Singh after hearing about the condition of Rajbir, came to help him. Rajbir is now working in Gurpreet’s NGO in Baran Hara. Rajbir works to pushes the wheelchair of the disabled, gives them water, food, looks after them with a monthly salary of Rs. 5000.
