JAIPUR: Until four years back, Krishna Nagar’s commute between home to the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here was a little more than just being tedious. Starting with a little walk to the stand to catch a bus and following the same routine on return, but with an exhausted body after a three-hour training twice a day.
However, he never complained about it or felt the need to own a vehicle, shares his coach Yadvendra Singh. But post Tokyo Games, where he won a gold and became the first Indian to win a medal in SH6 category, the first thing he did was buy a popular car.
There have been several additions in his lifestyle since 2021 and things have overall improved. The 4 feet 5 inches tall is no longer seen as an odd one out or a dwarf, but as a champion who has won a gold for the country at the highest level. Krishna is also an assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF).
“But now he has a lot of responsibilities after his mother passed away in November 2021. He is the eldest of the three siblings and he has taken it upon himself to ensure their house is in order. Ghar ka sab yahi sambhalta hain (he looks after everything at home). He is often concerned about his family,” the coach shared.
The 25-year-old, who is among 13 Indian para shuttlers who have made the cut for the Paris Paralympics, lost his mother in an unfortunate accident as she fell from the terrace of their house.
But what’s commendable on his part is that Krishna has not compromised on his game. “I have been coaching him since the first day he came to the SMS stadium in 2016. I know him well. I could see how after Tokyo success he became more confident of himself and the responsibility that landed on his shoulders after his mother’s passing, matured him as a person and as a player,” said Singh, who is a former national player from Rajasthan.
The Jaipur shuttler grew up in a humble lifestyle with his father working as a physiotherapist. While his younger sister is married, his brother is an engineering student. After the 2020 Paralympics, the world No. 2, also went on to win a gold at the World Championship held earlier this year in Pattaya, Thailand. “We have in the last three years worked on his net game and defense, and also on his fitness. The work done on him helped him win his first gold at the World Championship,” stated Krishna’s coach.
Singh, who is accompanying Krishna to Paris, is confident of another podium finish at the para-Games and with a sense of conviction says that “he has played and won against the players he will be pitted against in Paris. I again see a medal coming.”
