A Forgotten Hero

Who was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic medal?If you thought it was Leander Paes you were wrong.It was a gentleman named Khashaba Jadhav.He was from a wrestling background and loved sports.He was introduced to wrestling by his father.In London Olympics he participated in the flyweight category and finished sixth. Four years later at the Madras Nationals, he alleged that nepotism among officials resulted in him getting a point less than the winner which ruled him out of the Helsinki Olympics. Jadhav then had to run with the begging bowl to raise funds for his trip. The principal of Rajaram college, one Mr Khardekar even mortgaged his house for Rs 7,000 to raise founds, while local shopkeepers from his village Goleshwar in Karad district of Maharashtra, presented him with articles of use.At Helsinki(1952), he competed in the bantamweight category and won the bronze medal!Despite his phenomenal achievement, he was forgotten in a country where cricket dominates. He served the state police with a meager salary and struggled to make both ends meet.Even the government turned a blind eye to and a deaf ear to his call for financial help in his final years.He died in 1984.
Let us all acknowledge this man's feat.After all he was India's first individual medal winner!