Salute to the spirit: Yogesh of Agra won many international medals in basketball with a borrowed wheelchair

Report: Harikant Sharma

Agra: The destination is reached only by those who have life in their dreams, nothing happens with wings, they fly with courage. Yogesh Indolia has proved these lines to be true. Yes, Yogesh with his strong intentions made even the odd circumstances bow down. He encouraged people’s criticisms and kept creating new dimensions everyday. However, nature and luck put many obstacles in the way of his success. Even half of his body was snatched from him, but his courage, his passion, his determination could not be shaken. Yogesh Indolia, a resident of Bagda village in Barauli Ahir of Agra, is not dependent on any identity, today the whole world believes in his iron.

an accident snatched half of the body
It is about the year 2011. In an accident, the lower part of Yogesh’s waist had stopped working completely. He was forced to resort to a wheelchair. Treatment went on for years, for two years he went on bed rest. But during this he did not lose courage. He was very fond of playing basketball and started playing wheelchair basketball matches by making the same wheelchair his strength. First took training from Delhi and later he himself started practicing by taking training from YouTube.

Won by ‘Luck’ but lost by ‘Cash’
However, Yogesh Indolia’s family conditions are not good. He has already become financially weak. About ₹ 15 lakh has been spent in the treatment. Yogesh’s father Mahesh Indoriya is an electrician. He goes door-to-door to repair electricity. Has four brothers and one sister. Yogesh does not have his own wheelchair. He has to borrow a wheelchair from his friend Nisha and go to play a basketball match.

Appealed to the government for wheelchair
There is a special type of wheelchair in a wheelchair basketball match. Whose movement is very fast. Big international players have similar wheelchairs. The cost of this type of wheelchair is more than ₹ 5 lakh. Yogesh does not have such an advanced wheelchair. Due to which the speed of his playing also slows down. He has appealed to the government that his financial condition is not good. Because of which he is not able to buy a wheelchair. In such a situation, there is hope of help from the government and the local people’s representatives.

International medal journey from borrowed chair
In the year 2017, played on behalf of the Indian team in the Under-23 Asia-Ocean Wheelchair Basketball Championship held in Thailand. Yogesh got the sixth position in the team. Along with this, in the year 2017, playing for the Indian team in the International Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Nepal, he won a silver medal. He played for Punjab in the National Wheelchair Basketball Championship held in Chennai in the year 2019 and won a bronze medal in this match. Yogesh has played four national and two international basketball matches so far.

Dream is to bring gold for the country
Yogesh had changed a lot after the accident. Had to spend many years in bed. He was afraid of how people would see him now. What would people say about him? Thinking about this, the thought of suicide came to his mind many times. But in this bad situation, the family supported him a lot and because of this, Yogesh Indolia is making himself, his family and country famous in the world today. In future, efforts are being made to get India a medal in wheelchair basketball. His only demand is that he should get his own wheelchair.

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