Former wheelchair cricket team captain forced to work as daily wage laborer

Many people became unemployed due to the corona virus pandemic. This pandemic has had an impact on the sports world as well. Many tournaments were canceled due to Corona, due to which many national and state level players are forced to vegetables and other items to earn a living. Former Uttarakhand wheelchair cricket team captain Rajendra Singh Dhami is forced to work as a laborer in MNREGA for a living.

Rajendra Singh Dhami, former captain of the specially handicapped Indian cricket team, was coaching differently abled teenagers in various aspects of cricket including batting, bowling. He says that ‘I have seen many disabled people in my life losing hope under stress. I too have been in this darkness but I did not give up.’

Dhami says with determination that through his efforts, ‘I am focusing on giving a purpose to the life of the handicapped people. These days, Dhami  is working by breaking the stones used in the construction of roads under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

30 year old Rajendra has been the captain of the Indian wheelchair cricket team. He was currently the captain of the Uttarakhand wheelchair cricket team. Dhami became paralyzed at the age of 3. Despite this he never lost courage and has won many awards from his performance. He says that ‘I used to train differently abled children and practiced on my own to prepare for future tournaments but the corona pandemic stopped everything.’

Rajendra Singh Dhami holds a master’s degree in history. Also obtained B.Ed degree. He came to know about the wheelchair cricket team in the year 2014 through social media. He says that in the beginning it was more of a hobby than a passion for sports, but as it got involved, sports became my life.

District magistrate Dr Vijay Kumar Jogdande said the authorities have asked the district sports officer to provide him financial aid at the earliest.