ENARADA, Bangalore, August 13, 2014
It was exactly a year ago in the month of August, WWW.ENARADA.COM had featured international swimmer Niranjan M highlighting his stupendous achievements as a swimmer in the international arena.
In an exclusive interview to enarada.com Niranjan had said that his dream is to represent the country in 2015 Para Olympics and win medals for the country.
Going by Niranjan’s track record his 8 medal haul at the World Junior Games organized by International Wheel Chair and Amputee sports (IWAC) held recently at Stoke Mandeville in UK as against the 4 he won in 2014, it seems as though Niranjan is inching towards his long cherished dream of representing the country in the 2016 Para Olympics. Winning 8 medals at this international sporting event has given the much needed fillip to his self confidence.
Speaking to enarada.com once again an ecstatic Niranjan said “my morale is at the highest and I know I am on the right track to achieve my next goal which is not too far”. Niranjan seems to be clear cut about his ambition and is working diligently to achieve them.
By winning 8 medals at this competition, the overall medal tally won by him at various national and international events in the last 10 years since he began his stint in competitive swimming has risen to 80.
Niranjan is the torchbearer to today’s youngsters as he has demonstrated that physical disability should not and will not be a hindrance to those who are determined to overcome every obstacle that comes their way.
Needless to say Niranjan has not allowed his disability to come in the way of his excellence in his chosen field.
It is indeed a stunning achievement for 20 year old Niranjan, a final B.Com student of Jain University, Bangalore who is suffering from Spina Bifida, a common birth defect caused by the incomplete closure of embryonic neural tube. This disease can affect a person mentally or physically.
Fortunately for Niranjan in his case it manifested physically in his right leg which was weak affecting his mobility and he even walks with a limp.
Doctors suggested that horse-riding and swimming would be the best exercise to help him cope with the handicap and so his parents introduced him to swimming in 2003 when he was 9 years old. That decision to enroll him for competitive swimming batch was the turning point of his life as it opened up for him new vistas of challenges which he braved with determination.
His achievements as a swimmer are extraordinary considering that Niranjan had to undergo surgeries almost every year, starting from six months of his birth to correct his disability.
The doctors are waiting for him to turn 21 so that they are able to conduct his 16th surgery on his back to correct his limping. In 2000 he underwent a 16-hour long marathon surgery as he was paralysed from waist down and was not able to work.
For Niranjan’s parents Mukundan and Laxmi the ray of hope emerged when the doctors suggested that swimming would help their child overcome his disability to some extent.
So at the age of 9 in 2003 his parents took him to PMSC pool in Jayanagar where they came across Coach Christopher John who has to his credit students like international swimmer Abhinav and paraolympian Sharath Gayakwad. John suggested his parents to enrol him to the competitive swimming batch.
Under the watchful eyes of his coach Niranjan had emerged as a swimmer of great potential winning his first national medal, a silver in 50 M butterfly event in 2004 at the National Para Olympics of India and Asian Swimming Association for Disabled held in Mumbai. Again in 2005 he repeated the feat winning a silver medal in the nationals held in Kolkata. From then on he was hooked to swimming making it a part of his daily ritual.
He made his international debut in 2011 when he participated in the International IDM German swimming championship for the disabled, held in Berlin. Though he failed to win a medal the experience he gained helped him to win a medal in 2012. Last year he won four medals and this year he won eight medals and also added the individual championship to his credit.
In this year’s IWAC competitions Niranjan has given a credible performance winning eight medals out of the nine events in three major strokes – freestyle, butterfly and breastroke. He won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals to take his tally to 8 from 9 events. Apart from winning medals in his main strokes he has also won a medal in individual medley involving all the four storkes which clearly demonstrates his skill in all the four strokes of swimming. With this astounding performance Niranjan is also qualified to participate in the Asian Games 2014 to be held in Incheon. Niranjan also expects to improve his work ranking by breaking into top 10 from his last years 17th rank.
Despite his hectic college studies Niranjan spends in a total of six hours every day – both morning and evening practicing rigorously in his pursuit to reach the goal. Niranjan wanted to be a party of the Commonwealth games but a bad injury (ligament tear) kept him away from the competition and he feels trifle sad about losing an opportunity. Now he focuses on the future instead of sulking over the events of the past.
It is not just swimming in which Niranjan has excelled. He is equally good in academics and has set his eyes on becoming a Chartered Accountant. It is a challenge which Niranjan wants to overcome just as he overcame his disability to shine like a bright star in the sporting arena of our country. “My mother wants me to become a Chartered Accountant and I am also inclined towards this field. Considering the sacrifices made by my parents to help me achieve whatever I have so far, I feel the only gift I can give back to my parents is by fulfilling their dreams which are realistic”, Niranjan confesses.
He is grateful to his parents for making him what he is today, for channelising his energies in the right direction and for being the guiding force in his endeavors. “Whatever little I have been to accomplish so far has been due to the support and encouragement of my parents”.
He further says that he will continue swimming for another 3 to 4 years and at the same time will concentrate in his academics. He laments the lack of support for sportspersons in our country.
Given the kind of determination and the steely resolve with which he articulates his views and future plans, let us hope Niranjan will be able to bring laurels to the country by winning as many medals in the forthcoming international events for which he is gearing up with renewed verve.
