Even though javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics this year, many other athletes in the country are still struggling to make ends meet, despite earning medals at national championships. Lokesh Kumar, a sprinter from Delhi, is one of these athletes, having won a gold medal in the 200m in April of this year. However, he is having difficulties in his daily life, which has had a significant impact on his training.
Lokesh spoke to ANI about his family’s history and how he is now fighting to make ends meet. Lokesh’s father works as a rickshaw driver, and his mother works as a housemaid.
“My father is a rickshaw puller and mother used to work as a maid in bungalows, my mother’s earning is around 2500 per month and father earns on a daily basis so there is specific monthly earning, if we get food at one time there is no guarantee that we will get a meal on the next day, an athlete needs proper diet for his game but I fail to get that, but with the help of my coach I have dry fruits to eat and he also provides me some necessary things to eat but I am not able to get a proper diet,” said Lokesh while explaining his plight.
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Lokesh also has to travel a lot for practice, which has an impact on his daily routine and preparation. “I have to travel a long distance and spend money in order to acquire enough milk, therefore I have to limit my trip budget, which I can’t afford to do, so I cut back on my milk consumption and drink tepid water instead,” added Lokesh.
Vipin Lohit, Lokesh’s coach, told ANI that he has full faith in the sprinter’s ability and is confident that he can overcome all hurdles to build a name for himself.
“When he came to me I found some spark in him, his dedication and his commitment towards track is something I can’t explain. He has some financial issue but I also try to help him out in whatever way I can,” said his coach.
(With ANI inputs)
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