The warrant officer couldn’t celebrate his joyful moments when he received the award for the Para-athlete of the Year on September 11 because, coincidentally, it was the anniversary eve of the fateful day. [break]
Rana says he is possessed by a disbelief around this time of the year as he recalls the incident of September 12, 2003, that changed his life forever.
The 31-year-old says he was traveling along the Guruje Bhanjyang (pass) on the northwestern border of Kathmandu and Nuwakot districts with two other soldiers when a blast, triggered by the Maoists, occurred.
It was only two months after the completion of his special combat training at the ‘Gha’ Gulma (company), which has now been upgraded into Yuddha Bhairab Battalion, that Rana, a member of the Special Force, met with the tragic incident.
Two of his friends died instantly while he dived to safety.
“I dived as soon as I heard the explosion but the splinters had already caught me. When I stood up everything looked hazy. There was smoke all around and I could see only through my left eye. I tried to reach for my Galil (rifle) but my hand did not move. The right side of my body was bleeding all over. Later on, other members of our team, who were behind us, took me to safety,” he said.
Initially, he could see with his left eye for a week after the blast but lack of proper treatment resulted in complete blindness. Nevertheless, he doesn’t blame anyone for the negligence because he thinks it’s useless crying over spilt milk.
“The greatest thing is that I am still alive. I would have died had I not learnt judo. The diving skills learnt in judo saved my life,” added the army man from Baitadi, who, as a member of the Special Force, had also learnt taekwondo and boxing.
He says he always used to come first or second in his trainings in the races ranging from 1 mile to 10 miles.
However, his sporting career, albeit amateur, began long before he joined the army. It was during his school days that he participated in athletics competitions of the Birendra Shield.
“There were not many options in sports in our impoverished Far-western Region so I took up athletics,” he said.
But after joining the army in 1999, sports was not his priority as he had to perform the duty of a soldier. However, after the incident which he calls his ‘black day’, Rana is back at sports because this alone gives him hope in his otherwise dark and gloomy world.
But this time it is a different scene.
It was with a tough struggle that he first got into blind cricket, following three years of treatment and a six-month course in Braille at Nepal Netrahin Sangh (Nepal Blind Association).
The first international tournament that he played after losing his eyesight was a friendly cricket match for the blind in Pakistan about four years ago where he made a record 126 runs.
Then, he tried his hands at other sports. He says that he also holds the national record in athletics in 3 km and is the gold medalist in both national and regional level in 200 m race.
The high point in his career is a 12.85-second record in para-athletes’ 100 meter race during the 16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China, last year, for which he received the NSJF Sports Award. He was ninth among 45 blind athletes from Asia and first among south Asians.
Although the timing of the award touched a raw nerve of Rana, it also filled him with hope and optimism because this was the only honor he’s got for all his struggle after the fateful injury.
“I am really glad because NSJF has finally recognized my efforts and contributions,” an elated Rana told Republica.
Besides the award, the army man says that he has neither received any compensation from the government nor any support from the National Sports Council (NSC) despite the fact that the present leadership of NSC, headed by Member-Secretary Yubaraj Lama, had allocated budget for para-athletes soon after assuming office in July.
A high ranking officer of the Nepal Army told Republica that the government provides a maximum of Rs 200,000 as compensation to the soldiers injured during the decade-long insurgency from 1996 to 2006. The officer said the government presumes that the injured are “looked after” once it provides such an insignificant amount as compensation.
“The soldiers are not happy with the amount they receive after being disabled for the rest of their lives. This needs to be reviewed,” said the officer on condition of anonymity.
Eight years on, Rana still awaits support from the government while some other soldiers have already received compensation.
Meanwhile, the army has provided Rs 100,000 to Rana from its welfare fund which is not enough for the only bread winner of the family.
The youngest among five brothers and a sister, Rana shoulders all family responsibilities. His father Krishna Rana passed away when Rana was in fifth grade. He is the only one employed in the family. He has a mother back home in Baitadi while his wife and two sons live with him in a quarter provided by the army in Bansbari.
He received another blow when he was deprived of an opportunity to serve in the UN Peacekeeping Mission because he had lost his eyesight.
“I was really unlucky. My friends have already served in the peacekeeping missions twice,” he said.
In this gloomy environment, sports has given him some hope but he faces serious challenges as para-athletes are hardly considered sportsmen in Nepal.
“There isn’t any technical support for para-athletes like us in the country. It would have been great had the NSC provided adequate facilities for us,” said Rana, referring to the lack of coach for blind athletes.
“I want to go for training but there is no coach. We are the players without any coach,” added the army man, who is getting informal training from Nepal Police Club’s coach Leela Shrestha.
In addition to this, it is the transportation woe that compels him to avoid training at the Dasharath Stadium. “We need a guide to travel and it is difficult for us to pay for their transportation. So, I am unable to go for training at the stadium,” said Rana.
While the Nepali sports itself is in a dismal state, Rana is perhaps the fortunate one among para-athletes because he, unlike other disabled athletes, is getting support from the army.
But he considers it his right to don the army uniform because he lost his eyesight while carrying out his duty.
So far so good. But Rana has no idea what lies ahead.
“Had I not lost my eyesight, I would have gone back to village and ploughed my field after retirement. But now, I have no idea what to do after my army job is over,” he says remorsefully.
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