Three years after triumph over cancer, armyman bags medals at global event

BHOPAL: Raju Rawat, a canoe player from army, has set example for others who lost hopes due to several issues. On Sunday, he won two bronze medal in the international canoeing championship continued at Upper Lake. Two years he was bed ridden fighting with cancer. In all, 13 countries are participating in the championship.
He won bronze medals in 500 m C2 and 200m C-2 categories.Bhopal turned out to be a special memory for who sees Bhopal as his second home, as he had won national gold here before he caught up with the cancer.
Posted in 56 engineer unit in Sagar, Hawaldar Rawat has been a consistent performer. He came to limelight when he qualified for the finals in Asian Games in 2014 but his life completely changed in 2015-16. “I had started feeling the pain after coming back from Asia Games but could not gauge about the problem. I even attended national championships and won gold medal,” Rawat told TOI. he belongs to Uttarakhand.
His cancer was detected by end of 2015 in the lower abdomen. “That was biggest upset of my life as I was preparing for bigger international meets,” said 26-year-old Rawat. He was diagnosed and treated in Delhi’s army hospital. “Due to the disease, I had to keep myself out of game for two years,” he added. He got back to the waters in 2018.
Giving credit to his coaches and army for supporting him in dire need, Rawat said, “Without their support and encouragement, I would have never made a comeback.”
About his love for Bhopal, Rawat said, “Last year I had won gold in the national championship in Bhopal. As I had spent majority of my training at Bhopal’s Upper Lake it was like competing in home. Therefore, I was keen to contest in Bhopal once again. I told my coaches that I want to contest and started preparing,” said Rawat.
Impressed by his valour, army has started sending him to schools and colleges for motivational speech. “It is good to share my experience and the trauma I went through the treatment period. I would love to do the same in Bhopal if given an opportunity,” said Rawat.
His coaches felt that Rawat could stage a comeback only because of his determination. “He is an army man and such courage is very common in army,” said army coach.
Indian team coach Mayank Thakur who is from Bhopal has been regularly in touch with Rawat. “I have never seen such a player in my entire career. He will definitely make the wonders in world meet. His confidence on water is example for others,” said Thakur.
Bhopal: Just three years back, he was bed-ridden. Doctors had detected him with cancer. But the armyman did not give up hopes. He triumphed on the disease and bagged medals for the country. Meet Raju Rawat: A canoe player from the army, Raju bagged two bronze medal at the International Canoeing Championship at the Upper Lake on Sunday beating sailors from 13 countries.
With bronze medals in 500m C2 and 200m C-2 categories, Bhopal turned out to be a special memory for the sailor.
But the struggle to fight the disease was not an easy one for the sailor. His cancer was detected by end of 2015 in the lower abdomen. For two long years, he was bed-ridden. “Those were tough times — lowest point of my life as I was preparing for bigger international meets,” said 26-year-old Raju. He was treated at Delhi’s Army Hospital. “I had to keep myself out of game for two years,” he said. He got back to the waters in 2018.
Posted in 56 engineer unit in Sagar, Hawaldar Raju has been a consistent performer. He came to limelight when he qualified for the finals in Asian Games in 2014 but his life completely changed in 2015-16. “I had started feeling the pain after coming back from Asia Games,” Raju, who hails from Uttarakhand told TOI.
Giving credit of his success to his coaches and the Indian Army, Raju said, “Without their support and encouragement, I would have never made a comeback.” His coaches say that Raju could stage a comeback only because of his determination. “After all, he is an armyman,” said his army coach.
Indian team coach Mayank Thakur who is from Bhopal has been regularly in touch with Raju. “He will definitely make wonders in the world meet. His confidence is exemplary,” said Thakur.
About his love for Bhopal, Raju said, “Last year, I had won gold in the national championship in Bhopal. As I had spent majority of my training at Bhopal’s Upper Lake, it was like competing in home. Therefore, I was keen to contest in Bhopal once again. I told my coaches that I want to contest and started preparing,” said Rawat.
Impressed by his valour, the army has started sending him to schools and colleges to deliver motivational speeches. “It is good to share my experience and the trauma I went through the treatment period. I would love to do the same in Bhopal if given an opportunity,” he said.