Paralympic silver medalist Pranav Soorma

Paris: A quadriplegic who considers the accident that left him wheelchair-bound a “blessing in disguise,” Pranav Soorma is living up to his surname, who is now set to achieve the fame he deserves after winning a silver medal in his Paralympic debut.

He took a podium finish in the clubs throw, the Paralympic equivalent of the hammer throw, here on Wednesday, while fellow Indian Dharambir broke the Asian record to win the gold medal.

Soorma was only 16 when a concrete slab fell on him and his spinal cord was severely damaged, resulting in limited movement in his legs and hands. Even gripping the wooden bat is a daunting task for him and he has to hold it with glue to be able to take part in the competition.

“We have been working day and night for this moment because there is a lot to do given our health condition and regular training and practice is a big challenge in our health condition,” said Soorma after his inspiring performance of 34.59m in the final.

The boy from Faridabad, who has a degree in economics from the prestigious Delhi School of Economics, is also the deputy managing director of a nationalised bank.

He said that given his physical condition, life was “a very big challenge in itself”.

“Overcoming that and finding the right exercises, the right rest, the right nutrition… all of that together plays a big role in the development of an athlete. So we overcame all those challenges and achieved glory,” Soorma said.

“As you know, we play in the F51 category, which is the most severe disability in the Para Games. We have no grip in our fingers, so we use a kind of glue to hold our equipment, which is the wooden bat, and make a throw,” Soorma explained.

The thrower said the glue would be a challenge depending on the weather conditions.

“… in extreme heat the chewing gum dissolves, in extreme cold the chewing gum becomes hard and in rain it becomes slippery.”

“So we have to adapt to it and do our best. I think the gum didn't work the way I wanted, but somehow we managed to do our best,” Soorma added.

Soorma's success is also due to the persistence of his father Sanjeev. Sanjeev gave up his job to become Soorma's caregiver as the family did not have the financial means to hire one.

This is his second major medal after the gold medal at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year.

“…coming here and winning a medal in the first game made me feel like I was on cloud nine. I'm really happy that I worked hard for this and qualified for this and now our hard work has paid off,” he said.

Virat Kohli, my role model

If there is one sportsman Soorma admires, it is batsman Virat Kohli and his work ethic.

“I have been a fan of (Michael) Jordan (NBA all-time legend) for a very long time. When I talk about the biggest role model in sports, for me it is Virat Kohli.

“He too has experienced ups and downs in his sporting career, so he worked on it, took his time and ultimately came out stronger and better than everyone else.

“He is the best athlete in the world and I consider him a role model for myself,” he added.