Medal-winning Kanchanmala Pandey had to overcome official apathy and face fund crunch.
Nagpur’s Kanchanmala Pande created history on Thursday, 7 December. As she became the first Indian to secure pole position at the World Para Swimming Championship in Mexico, reported The Times of India.
The 26-year-old Reserve Bank of India employee won gold in the 200 metre medley event in the S-11 category. She was the only Indian to qualify for the women’s category.
Unfortunately, she missed a podium finish in the 100 metres freestyle and came fifth in the breaststroke and backstroke category.
Pande, a resident of Amravati, qualified for the World Para Swimming Championship after she brought home a silver at the IDM Berlin Para Swimming Championship in July this year.
However, she had a tough time in Berlin. She wasn’t provided funds by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which was to sponsor her trip. The accompanying officials did not give her money claiming their bank accounts were blocked.
As a result, she was forced to borrow money and was even fined for travelling without a ticket on public transport, as her coach had not given her a ticket even though it was his responsibility.
Pande attributes her win to her husband Vinod Dekhmukh’s support, along with her coaches and physio staff.