AI Generated Summary
- Bhartpreet began to see athletics not merely as a source of food and shelter, but as a career through which he could build an identity of his own.
- It was the latest chapter in a journey that began not with dreams of fame, but with a young boy’s desire to lessen his mother’s financial burden.
- For Bhartpreet Singh, the bronze medal he won at the Asian U-23 Athletics Championships in China was not merely a sporting achievement.
For Bhartpreet Singh, the bronze medal he won at the Asian U-23 Athletics Championships in China was not merely a sporting achievement. It was the latest chapter in a journey that began not with dreams of fame, but with a young boy’s desire to lessen his mother’s financial burden.
Competing in the discus throw on July 9, Bhartpreet secured a place among Asia’s best young athletes. Yet, behind the medal lies a story shaped by bereavement, poverty and the sacrifices of a widowed mother.
A resident of Shahbad village near Batala in Punjab, Bhartpreet lost his father, a Punjab Police constable, when he was just eight years old. His mother was left to raise him and his younger sister on a modest monthly income of around Rs 8,000.
As the family struggled to meet basic expenses and pay for his sister’s education, Bhartpreet began looking for a way to help. When he learnt that athletes selected during trials in Jalandhar would receive free accommodation and meals, he decided to participate.
His motivation was simple.
“I thought that if I got selected and stayed away from home, there would be one less person for my mother to feed,” he recalled.
At the trials, his athletic potential caught the attention of coach Baldeep Singh of the Punjab Sports Department’s Centre of Excellence. But the coach also noticed the difficult circumstances from which the young athlete had come.
Bhartpreet had arrived wearing worn-out slippers. When Baldeep asked about his family, he quietly revealed that his father had died years earlier. The coach realised that the teenager possessed not only the physical build required for throwing events, but also the determination born out of hardship.
Initially, Bhartpreet viewed sport primarily as a means of reducing expenses at home. His ambitions changed after he saw one of his roommates return victorious from a competition.
The respect and recognition received by his friend left a deep impression on him. Bhartpreet began to see athletics not merely as a source of food and shelter, but as a career through which he could build an identity of his own.
That shift in outlook marked the beginning of his serious pursuit of the discus throw.
One of his earliest competitions also gave him a lasting reminder of the faith placed in him by his coach. Before Bhartpreet travelled to Guwahati for his first Junior National Championships, he did not have enough money for the journey. Baldeep arranged an air-conditioned train ticket for him.
Bhartpreet preserved the ticket and continues to keep it among his most valued possessions.
“It was the first time I travelled in an AC coach,” he said. “I felt that my coach was doing so much for me, and I had to work just as hard to prove that his faith was justified.”
His mother, too, made extraordinary sacrifices to support his career. When he required his first pair of professional throwing shoes, she sold her gold bangles to pay for them.
The investment, made at considerable personal cost, gradually began to yield results.
Bhartpreet emerged as one of India’s most promising young throwers and won the gold medal at the 2023 Asian U-20 Athletics Championships. Success at the Junior Nationals and subsequent international competitions strengthened his confidence and established him at the continental level.
His latest bronze medal at the Asian U-23 Championships represents another important step in that progression.
Bhartpreet now serves as a Petty Officer in the Indian Navy, but financial security for his family remains his foremost ambition. His mother continues to work for a monthly salary of about Rs 13,000, and the family still lives in rented accommodation.
Despite his international medals and growing reputation, the athlete’s most cherished goal remains deeply personal.
He wants to buy a house for his mother.
For the young discus thrower, therefore, every competition carries a purpose greater than a place on the podium. Each throw is an attempt to repay the woman who raised two children on a limited income, sold her jewellery to support his career and never allowed adversity to end his ambitions.
The bronze medal from China may belong to Bhartpreet Singh, but its story is inseparable from his mother’s sacrifices.
