Deepankar Sharda
Panchkula, June 7
A young Balwinder Singh would die to represent the country in 100m or 200m races, but lack of guidance always pushed him back. He dreamt of bringing an international medal for the country. However, his talent got wasted over a period of time.
The 46-year-old man and now a father of two, Balwinder, again relived his old memories here today. It was all due to his 19-year-old daughter Jasmine Kaur, who not only won a gold medal in the shot put event of the Khelo India Youth Games, but also registered a New Youth National Record.
Hailing from a small village, Samundari, an hour away from Anandpur Sahib, Jasmine surprised everyone at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium with a throw of 16.12m. She not only improved her previous Khelo India Games record, which was 14.85, but also registered a new Youth National Record with this gold medal throw, today.
“I am happy today. This gold medal is worth celebrating,” said elated Jasmine.
Notably, her younger sister Gurleen Kaur (U-16 national medallist) was also competing against her today. However, she was ruled out from the medal round owing to an injury. The youngster admires her father and gives all credit to him.
“He was a 100m and 200m athlete. However, he couldn’t pursue his dream due to lack of guidance. He played at the state level, but I will make sure to play for India one day to fulfil his dream,” said Jasmine. She said: “I will be going to represent the country in the Asian and Commonwealth Games not this year, but definitely in the next edition… and might be in the Olympics too.”
The upcoming shot-putter practices six hours a day and her diet is looked after by her grandfather. While Jasmine wants to live her father’s dream, Balwinder makes sure that not only her daughters, but other children from his village also indulge themselves in various sports. For this purpose, Jasmine’s family opened a school named BJS School amp; Sports Academy.
“There was a time when I wanted to be the next track star from India. However, destiny has something else in store. For me, both my daughters – Jasmine and Gurleen – are equally important. They have some plans and it’s my duty to provide them with whatever they need to achieve their aim. My girls will make the nation proud one day,” said Balwinder.
Living my father's dream, says shot putter Jasmine Kaur who sets new Youth National Record
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