"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
23 Mar 2017
Anandan Gunasekaran of the Indian Army was posted in Kupwara district of J&K. In 2008, while searching for live mines, he took a wrong step and the mine beneath blew his left leg and injured him seriously. He had to undergo a series of operations in Delhi and Pune and later attended a rigorous rehabilitation programme.
On Tuesday, all his pain and struggle were replaced by feelings of joy and jubilation as he won a silver medal in the men's 400m World Para Athletics grand Prix in Dubai. He clocked 55.27 sec for the silver medal, behind Saudi Arabia's Nour Alsana, who won the gold with his timing of 54.76 sec. Another Indian, Pramod Kumar finished the race in 58.31 sec, to bring bronze for the country.
Anandan runs with a blade below his left knee. He had been training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune since he shifted base from his unit in Bengaluru last year. Anandan said that he was thrilled to win his biggest medal so far.
Anandan first ran with a wooden leg in the Mumbai Marathon's 2.5km run in the disabled category in 2012 in which he won the first prize. With the internet, he learnt about blades and his unit imported a blade from Iceland in 2014 and it gave him wings. Two months after getting the blade, he won 100m gold and 200m silver at the International Grand Prix in Malaysia.
With his win on Tuesday, Anandan has qualified for the International Paralympic Committee organized World Para athletics championships to be held from July 14 in London.
