2024-02-18 23:46:47
Indore: Padmashree awarded international para swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia has had to cross oceans of physical, mental and social challenges to reach this position. Lohia (35), who hails from Gata village in Morena district of the state, said, ‘Being selected for the Padmashree award is a big thing which I can feel, but cannot express in words.’
He said, ‘Initially people looked at me with sympathy. They used to say that my life has been ruined because of the problem in my legs, but I thought that I have to become the object of people’s respect and not their sympathy. For this I gathered strength in my mind.
According to Lohia, due to the alleged negligence of doctors in his childhood, due to the side effects of medicines on his legs, he started facing difficulty in walking at the age of 12, which kept increasing continuously. He told, ‘I learned to swim in the river of my village in my childhood, but I did not know the technical tricks of swimming. I learned these tricks during my college studies in Gwalior and thought of pursuing this game professionally.
Lohia told that he tried to cross the English Channel by swimming in 2017, but due to extreme cold he did not succeed in it. He said, ‘But I did not lose courage. I crossed the English Channel with the Indian relay team in 2018 and with this we also created a new Asian record. Lohia, who has won medals for India in many international competitions, has expertise in the backstroke style of swimming.
Now his eyes are on the Asian Para Games to be held in Japan in 2026. Lohia has also been awarded ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award’ and Madhya Pradesh’s highest sports decoration ‘Vikram Award’. He works in the Commercial Tax Department of the State Government.
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