Bus conductor nets 2 golds at big-ticket international meet

Revelling in the aura of shuttler PV Sindhursquos bronze win at the World Championships and the boxoffice exploits of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag it is easy to overlook the fact that India is still far from becoming a force to reckon with in the sporting arena But extraordinary achievers like Abasaheb Gaikwad continue to hold out hope Way to go The medallist had to assume the u00a0mantle of the familyrsquos provider when he was in std IX after his father suffered a paralysis attack and became bedridden File Pic The 34yearold conductor from Maharashtra State Regional Transport Corporationrsquos Atpadi ST depot in Sangali district created history by winning two gold medals in javelin and discus throw at the Torino 2013 Masters Games held at Turin Italy between August 2 and August 11 Italian job Astonishingly Abasaheb Gaikwad accomplished this stunning feat without any coaching or professional training Astonishingly Gaikwad accomplished this stunning feat without any coaching or professional training The bus conductor hails from a poor family that virtually lives hand to mouth in the droughtaffected district had boarded the flight to Italy on July 31 without much expectations ldquoI have been participating in various tournaments in the country and last year managed to clear the qualifying matches at Kerala Masters Athletic Games and got the opportunity to partake in the Turin eventrdquo said Gaikwad Sangli MSRTC depot officials and colleagues of Gaikwad extended their support the athlete and offered financial assistance to make his Italian dream come true Gaikwad told MiD DAY that last year he and a colleague from the same depot Nivas Raskar got the chance to go to the Asia Masters Athletics Championship which was supposed to be organised in Taipei in November 2012 However owing to some technical reasons the games got cancelled ldquoI however continued my practice sessions juggling them with my job as conductor at depot and later participated in the qualifying games at Keralardquo he said The medallist said when he was in std IX his father suffered a paralysis attack and became bedridden Gaikwad realised then that he would have to take up the breadwinnerrsquos mantle ldquoAfter completing my HSC I joined MSRTC as a conductor and was happy that the department gave me every opportunity to explore my talentsrdquo he said adding ldquoBefore going to Italy and winning the two gold medals in javelin and discus throw in the 3135 age group I had participated in several tournaments at the district state and national level and bagged 15 medals and several certificatesrdquo u00a0Since his partaking was a private affair there was no official support from the department However his depot manager and colleagues collected money within the division to finance his excursion ldquoMy neighbours from Shetjale village in Atpadi taluka contributed Rs 175 lakh and the department too donated Rs 50000 Additionally I took some loan to bear the expenses of the triprdquo he said Gaikwad added that the Masters Athletics Federation of India which is the apex body too extended its guidance in visa and other administrative formalities u00a0Apart from monetary support the depot manager saw the potential in Gaikwad and allotted him favourable shifts so he could allocate more time to practice ldquoI am really grateful to Rahul Toro the then district regional controller with MSRTC here who personally encouraged me for the gamesrdquo the athlete said A proud boss Toro who has recently been promoted as regional manager and transferred to Mumbai division said that his entire department is proud of Gaikwad ldquoSuch extraordinary talents should be nurturedrdquo Toro said ldquoThere is no provision in the department to give financial help in such matters but we managed this at the personal level Unfortunately there is no stipulation in the department in terms of internal promotions as this was a completely private pursuit of the employeerdquo he regretted Impressive haul About 25 athletes from the nation participated in the games in which 60 countries partook India managed to bag 11 medals in different categories two golds two silvers and seven bronzes Rs 225 lakh Total amount donated by Gaikwad39s neighbours and colleagues