Ram Milan Yadav recovers paralytic attack to win a national medal

Indian sailor Ram Milan Yadav won the Gold medal in the recently concluded National Multiclass Ranking Sailing Championship in Hyderabad, but he never thought of achieving the feat nine months back when he was ailing a serious disease. A paralytic attack seemed to have almost drawn the curtains to his career but he sailed back to glory just like a champ! “I was admitted to ICU for 15 days (after suffering a paralytic attack at National Sailing School hostel which he had joined three years back. I felt my sailing career had come to end as I was neither able to move my hands nor walk,” said Ram Milan. Realising what a setback this could be for Indian Sailing,

the Sports Department decided to take care of all of Ram Milan’s medical expenses. It also encouraged the athlete to get well and started recovering after spending a month in the hospital. “We were stunned when we heard about him. We are a poor family and it was not possible for us to afford his medical expenses,” confessed Ram Milan’s father Nand Rai Yadav. Ram Milan Yadav promised to be a bright prospect when he started his sailing career during his school days and success was instant. At the age of 14, the boy from Madhya Pradesh won the Bronze medal in the boys’ category during the Asian Sailing Federation Youth Sailing Cup in 2017, in Dubai. He followed it up with notable performances in Telangana State Open Sailing Championship and Secunderabad Club-Greenko youth open regatta later that year. Hailing from a small village in Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, he dreams big! He is also grateful to State Sports Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia who gave immense support in his recovery process. This is what we want to see more often in India, the concern, the care for athletes from the people in charge, only then can our country excel in the sports!

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