Less than a year after &lsquo;Blade Runner&rsquo; Oscar Pistorius made a memorable, if not all-conquering appearance at the London Olympics, sports lovers will once again get an opportunity to hail a physically challenged athlete participating with normal runners. Come Sunday, Pune-based Army Captain Avnish Bajpai will make his Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon debut in the half marathon category with the help of a prosthetic left leg. <img alt="Avnish Bajpai" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/jan/Avnish-Bajpai-1.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 934px;" /> Avnish Bajpai &ldquo;I am glad that the Indian Army gave me permission to participate in the marathon. This is a crucial test for me. If I do well, there are chances that the Army will grant me a blade limb,&rdquo; 25-year-old Bajpai, who is currently serving in the 19th Dogra Regiment told MiD DAY yesterday. Here&rsquo;s his story: &ldquo;I was injured in a grenade blast during field-firing in Hoshiarpur near Jalandhar in March, 2011. The grenade exploded just 20 metres away from me. I started bleeding profusely and doctors were not sure if I would survive, but I did. <img alt="Avnish Bajpai" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/jan/Avnish-Bajpai-2.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 423px;" /> &ldquo;Even after 16 operations, there are some splinters in my leg that need to be removed. I will be operated at the Command Hospital in Pune on January 24 after the Mumbai Marathon.&rdquo; Bajpai had no choice but to adjust with an artificial limb. &ldquo;Being in the Army has made me tough. It wasn&rsquo;t easy to adjust to a prosthetic limb. The artificial limb is for walking, not running,&rdquo; he said. Next on his agenda was to get back to running, which he always enjoyed. And once he achieved that, he harboured dreams of making it to the marathon. <img alt="Avnish Bajpai" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/jan/Avnish-Bajpai-3.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 384px;" /> Pune-based Captain Avnish Bajpai trains for his debut at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, for which he has been preparing for the last three months. Pics/Krunal Gosavi &ldquo;I have been training hard at the Sports Medicine Centre in Ghorpadi, Pune for the last three months. My aim is to complete the half marathon in 2 hours, 30 minutes, but as I sweat a lot while running, I might lose some time cleaning the perspiration off my leg and wearing my artificial limb again. Even if I complete the run in 2 hours, 40 minutes, I will be more than satisfied,&rdquo; he said. Despite being an army man, Bajpai is hurt that Pakistani players are not being allowed to participate in sporting events in India. &ldquo;Sports and politics should be kept separate,&rdquo; he emphasised. &ldquo;It is wrong for political parties not to allow Pakistani players in tournaments hosted in the country. It is the duty of a soldier posted at the border to save his nation, and both Indian and Pakistani soldiers are doing that,&rdquo; said Bajpai, who aims to motivate war-disabled army personnel to take up sport and win laurels for the country at the Paralympics. 16 The number of operations performed to remove splinters from his legu00a0

25-yr-old, who lost his leg in a grenade blast, will be participating in the half-marathon with the hope that a good performance will help him gain a blade limb

Amputee jawan is running for a leg

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Amputee jawan is running for a leg

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