Our Bureau/

Sudhir Kumar Sudhanshu, a 23 year old boy from Raghopur village under Naugachia sub-division of Bhagalpur managed to win bronze in 29 th senior Kayaking and Canoeing national championship 2019 at New Delhi.

Different sports bodies across Bihar along with people  from various walks of life have congratulated Sudhir for his achievement in the national championship event.

The race on water.

The national championship was organized at New Delhi from February 21-24 where Sudhir performed his best and miss the second position with very less margin. He won the bronze at the event P K 01 to 200 meter race. According to Manoj Kumar, secretary of Bihar Kayaking and Canoeing Association, a registered body and also affiliated by Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association, Sudhir’s performance was excellent but as luck didn’t favour, he missed the second position.

“But it’s a matter of proud for us and for entire Bihar that the boy from this land highlighted the name of Bihar. With limited resources for proper practice and proper training, Sudhir performed best,” Kumar pointed out.

Sudhir on his boat .

Hailing from a very poor background, from a poor famer family in a sleepy village like Raghopur, Sudhir is also a student of part-III at Sabour college of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University.

Penury and backwardness in the home-turf  of Sudhir however never remained obstacle for him. Since Raghopur is located on diara land (island of Ganga), devastating floods became recurring features there. “From his early childhoods, he was accustomed with the situations particularly how to fight against the water tides during floods. The Nature has made many like Sudhir a good swimmer. He has to play boats also for rescuing marooned people or the cattle in the submerged areas and hence he managed to develop himself as a good boatman which ultimately helped him to managed the bronze in the national event,” said people from Raghopur.

Sudhir who highlighted the name of Bihar at national championship.

According to Manoj, local boys and girls in the areas located on the catchment areas of rivers like Ganga in Bihar have tremendous talents as well as passion for boating as it mostly part and partial in their lives. “We are trying to identify such talents and after providing them proper training, we easily could yield good,” he hoped.

Sailesh Singh Bhadoria, the president of the association along with many others have also congratulated Sudhir on his success.