Pithoragarh: Not many years ago, Rajendra Singh Dhami was captain of the Indian wheelchair cricket team. Now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he is forced to work as a labourer to make ends meet.
Dhami, who currently leads the Uttarakhand team, was only 3 years old when he was 90 per cent disabled due to paralysis.
As he g
rew up, the young boy started showing interest in cricket. Soon, he got hooked to the game and started winning accolades.
He went on to achieve a Masters degree in History and also completed B Ed.
Once the coronavirus pandemic set in and lockdown was declared, Dhami started struggling financially.
“Before this, I was coaching wheelchair-bound children interested in playing cricket in Rudrapur. But that came to a halt. I returned to my village Raikot in Pithoragarh, where my parents live,” Dhami told The Times of India.
He needs to support his aged parents as his brother – who used to work at a hotel in Gujarat — lost his job during the lockdown. Dhami then decided to start working under the MGNREGA scheme.