Harsh Jindal
“It all started when I joined Tennis training in 5th grade. Who knew that this would be my first step towards years of training, practices and tournaments. During seventh standard, my sports teacher introduced me to Discus Throw and it was not long before I started my training seriously and even won many medals at the national level. But this craze was short-lived as I got injured during practice and had to take a year off. I was disheartened and felt that this was the end of my journey in sports, but a senior at school motivated me to see this as an opportunity to take up a new sport. I decided that during my year off I’ll learn about the basics of Javelin Throw. Even though I couldn’t play because of my injury, I spent most of my time watching YouTube videos of Javelin throws and getting my fundamentals right. This set up a strong foundation and paved the way for me to do well in the sport later on.
In 11th standard, I went all out and started looking at sports as a career. I won in the Zonals and Inter-Zonals of Javelin throw, but despite my hard work, I couldn’t qualify for the nationals. This was a critical time and I reconsidered my priorities. My experience in nationals had made me skeptical about choosing sports as a career. It was a tough decision, so I decided to call off Javelin throw and focus on my academics instead. But even though I left sports, it never really left me.”
“I chose IIT Roorkee because of it’s sports culture, which was at its peak back then. Coming to IITR gave a fresh boost to the athlete in me. During my first year, I got selected in NSO and finally started playing after 2 long years. Sports were my escape from reality. When you are standing on the ground, all other things take a backseat. Even though we had to wake up at 5 in the morning and train 5–6 hours everyday, it never seemed like a pain. It’s true what they say, if you’re passionate about something, it doesn’t feel like a burden.
Training for a sport is not just confined to practicing that particular sport. I played Table Tennis (to increase hand-eye coordination), did Weightlifting (to build strength) and sprinted (to increase agility). I was one of the only 3 people from the first year to be selected for the Inter IIT Sports Meet. My participation in sports was not just limited to actually playing one. I was also the Captain of the athletics team, IITR and also the Deputy Gensec sports. In my tenure, I tried to revamp the Inter Hostel Sports Tournament and also encouraged more participation of girls in sports.
During the Inter IIT Sports Meet 2015, our team was competing against IIT Kharagpur in javelin throw. I was leading till the second last throw, but then my competitor threw a javelin at 72 mts, which was longer than I had ever thrown. To beat this, I would have to give my best shot. That year, I won a gold, beating my own personal record. A fitting climax leading to a perfect ending. All the daily practices, injuries, and hard work seemed worth it. Looking back, I’d say, once you fall in love with what you’re doing, everything else falls in place itself.” — Harsh Jindal
