80% blind teaseller wins India its first Paralympics judo medal

Bhopal: A chaiwallah, who lost his eyesight in 2009 due to an electric shock, has won India its first ever medal in judo at the Paris Paralympics. Kapil Parmar, who knows a thing or two about grappling with adversity, won bronze in the 60kg J1 category on Thursday.J1 is for athletes with zero or extremely low visual acuity. Kapil, 24, defeated Brazil's Elitton de Oliveira in a swift 33-second match to take a place in the podium.Kapil was only nine years old when he became 80% blind, but he never let it cloud his optimism. He took to judo to learn close-in self-defence but turned out to be a natural martial artist and got a berth as a boarder at MP State Judo Academy in Bhopal.In his words, he "wouldn't let his blindness define him". Kapil's elder brother Lalit Parmar said he has been a judoka for only seven years but has already brought glory to the nation. "He is extremely determined. He is always in high spirits," says Lalit.Their father is a cowherd and the family jointly runs a tea shop in Sehore, around 40km from Bhopal. Inspired by his younger brother, Lalit too started learning judo recently. "I have already won a medal in the nationals," said Lalit.Paris is Kapil's debut at the Paralympics but he has an impressive tally of 13 international medals, including 8 gold.Sports minister Vishwas Kailash Sarang congratulated Kapil and called him a role model for youngsters in Madhya Pradesh and hailed his ability to perform at the highest level despite adverse circumstances.In the blind judo men's individual 60 kg J-1 event, the quarter-final was played directly instead of a qualifying round. Kapil trounced Blanco MD of Venezuela 10-0 and made it to the semi-finals, where he lost to Iran's Syed Banitaba Khurram. He went into the bronze medal match with a now-or-never attitude and wrapped it up in half a minute.This is the second medal won by an MP athlete at the Paris Paralympics. Earlier this week, Jabalpur's Rubina Francis won a bronze in shooting.