Amit Kumar Saroha is a paralympian competing in the F51 category in Discus throw and Club throw.
Early Career of Amit Kumar Saroha
Amit Kumar Saroha currently trains at the Sports Authority of India in Sonipat and is being supported by the GoSports Foundation ahead of his quest to win a medal for India at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Amit Kumar Saroha was born in Haryana in 1985. He suffered a car accident when he was 22, causing him to become a quadriplegic due to compression of the spinal cord. Before his injury, Amit Kumar Saroha was a national level hockey player. However, his tryst with fame as a sportsperson happened after his injury when he met Jonathan Sigworth, an American wheelchair rugby player on a tour of India to promote para sports. Wheelchair rugby introduced Amit Kumar Saroha to the world of para sports and he joined Sigworth in promoting wheelchair rugby across India.
Career of Amit Kumar Saroha
While playing in a demonstration match of wheelchair rugby with a Brazilian team, he met several para-athletes from across the world and learnt the official Paralympics nomenclature for his injury - F 51. Amit Kumar Saroha decided to take training in sports which require upper body strength and started competing in throw ball and discus throw; he has not looked back since.
Amit Kumar Saroha in Asian Para Games
In 2010, Amit Kumar Saroha took part in his first Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, where he won a silver medal in Discus throw, one of only 14 other medals won by Indians. Two years later, Amit Kumar Saroha won a Gold medal in the Olympic qualifier event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, breaking the Asian record along the way.
Amit Kumar Saroha in London Olympics 2012
Amit Kumar Saroha is one of India`s top Para athletes and the first quadriplegic to represent India at a Paralympics Games (London 2012).
Amit Kumar Saroha in 2014 Asian Para Games
At the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, Korea, Amit Kumar Saroha won two medals for India; a Gold in Club throw with a distance of 21.31 m and a Silver in Discus throw with a distance of 9.89 m. His club throw distance was another Asian record, and the medal winning performance earned him an automatic qualification for Rio 2016.
Ami Kumar Saroha in 2015 Asian Para Games
Amit Kumar Saroha arrived at the 2015 World Championships in Doha and lived up to his reputation, winning Silver medal in Club throw and bettering his previous Asian Games mark by over 4 metres to register a throw of 25.44 m.
Other Works of Amit Kumar Saroha
Apart from being an athlete, Amit Kumar Saroha is also a big promoter of the Paralympics movement in the country. He is a motivational speaker for the youth and has been invited to speak across prestigious institutions like IIT Guwahati (Chief Guest) and BITS, Pilani.
Award received by Amit Kumar Saroha
Amit Kumar Saroha rose to third in the world rankings, after Kualalampur Games and also earned the first Paralympic games qualification in London 2012.The following year, Amit was conferred the Arjuna Award by the President of India, in recognition of his outstanding sporting achievements.
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