(Image source from: livemint.com)

Every person has dreams but only a handful achieves what they dream of and Rajkumar Tiwari is on the way to do so. The popular and determined ice figure skater’s struggles with his sport and his dreams are nothing short of an inspiration for the people around.

His story started off when he was on the streets working as a hawker and then went on to bag the gold medal at the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang. He has worked hard every single day to leave behind an imprint in the circuit of the ice skating name. Tiwari has also been an inspiration for his 12 year old brother who is following on his footsteps.

Rajkumar is flourishing in his field and with his dreams now and hopes that he can render the same for his little brother as well. He is a happy man at the moment. Following a popular media outlet ran a story on the kind of influence Rajkumar is projecting on his brother, Manjesh, he got a call from someone residing in the United States who was touched after reading the story and wanted to lend a helping hand. Rajkumar is currently training in California, United States.

In a statement issued to Times of India, Rajkumar stated saying, “A big thanks to Timesofindia.com. Mr VR Ferose is the head of a software company (Senior Vice President and Head of SAP Academy for Engineering). The moment he read the Timesofindia.com article about my brother and me, he somehow found my number and contacted me and offered to help us. He said he read our story on TimesofIndia.com and wanted to meet us. He met me in the US and transferred 2000 USD in my accountand has also promised that he will write a book on me.”

On being asked about how the experience meeting Ferose was, Rajkumar said that he loved it. He said that Ferose has promised him that he’ll do as much as he can for the two brothers and their progress with their dreams. Rajkumar believes that he came around as a godfather for them, helping them during times that they needed it the most. He said that there’s very less people like him in this world.

Rajkumar, who has been training in California, US with the help of the crowd funding efforts by the people around has also been enrolled into the Shark Skating Rink in California where Ferose has taken care of the fees for him. Owing to this, Rajkumar can get the best training without having to pay around USD 600 in fees. Ferose contacted the CEO of the Shark Skating Rink to negotiate on this.

Rajkumar said that he has experienced a lot of ups and downs and hardships through with his career in figure skating. There have been days when he has worked in a bead shop with his father to earn money. He has worked as a waiter in hotels in night shifts and even sold things on the street. The only thing that he aspires for is for his brother to not go through the same battles that he went through.

Apart from everything, Rajkumar also struggles with neurodevelopmental issues with general learning disability. He has completed the general category since 2014 following his treatments but the issue that he has been facing is missing out on some of the most important international events just because of the lack of funding in this sport.

Addressing this issue, Rajkumar made an appeal to the current sports minister of India, Kiren Rijiju stating, “I want to appeal to the honourable Sports Minister Rijiju sir to please help us. All we want is some support. I won a gold medal at the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang. My brother and I will continue to make India proud with our hard work.”

In addition to that, he also further pleaded to the sports minister to look out for the available rinks around in India. The one that he and his brother practice in is located in Gurgaon and charges INR 600 per hour and the one in Shimla is only operational during the winters. As an athlete, it is important for them to practice the entire year round. He wants the government to look into it and come up with more sustainable options so the players don’t have to go outside of India just to practice.

By Somapika Dutta