How a mother’s healing touch set Yogesh Kathuniya up for Paralympics glory

When he was introduced on the public address system at the Stade de France on Monday afternoon, Yogesh Kathuniya looked at the camera and smiled.

He was stretching his arms and continued doing so after the customary introductions were done.

Yogesh was focused, for the task at hand wasn’t easy.

But when he let the discuss fly in his very first effort, it landed on the 42.22m mark and the job was seemingly done.

The silver medal was his.

But all of this would never have been possible had his mother not intervened early in his life.

A mother's touch

The road to Paris, however, has been anything but rosy for Yogesh.

Born to a soldier father and a homemaker mother, Yogesh was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome at just nine years of age.

The neurological disorder occurs when the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system leading to muscle weakness. Additionally, when the disease strikes young children, a loss of sensation in the legs and/or arms is a usual outcome. What's more, limbs become underdeveloped.

Needless to say, Yogesh suffered and constantly endured back pain and pains in the arms and legs.

Waking was a challenge and sport was a distant dream.

To tend to his needs, his mother Meena Devi learnt physiotherapy and began administering therapy first hand. And in time, her efforts magically restored strength to his muscles and Yogesh was able to walk again at the age of twelve.

And this proved to be a turning point in his life.

Education was important for the Kathuniya family and Yogesh graduated with a bachelor’s degree is commerce.

Sports were always an area of interest, but it was only when a student union leader motivated him in 2016, that Yogesh took to sports seriously.

After watching videos of para-athletes, Yogesh settled on the discus throw.

And he took to it like duck to water.

Steady stream of success

At the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin, Yogesh set a world record by throwing the discus to 45.18m.

There was no looking back now.

In 2019, he won gold at the Handisport Open and at the Indian Open, and this was followed by all important bronze a the World Para Athletics Championships.

This was an indication that he had well and truly arrived on the world scene.

And then, at the 2020 Tokoy Paralympics, Yogesh registered 44.38m to win silver in the men’s discuss throw (F56) event.

Awards came thick and fast, a significant one being the Arjuna Award in November 2021.

Thereafter, as if bolstered by the recognition, Yogesh embarked on a medal-winning conquest. In 2022, he won a silver at Asian Para Games and then at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championship, he bagged silver.

What sets Yogesh apart from the rest is his consistency.

His F56 category displays limb deficiency and leg length difference. But whilst suffering impaired muscle movement, Yogesh makes up in an unyielding consistency and a desire to excel, all brought about thanks to his mother’s magical intervention.