On ‘jugaad boat’, Gwalior girl sails to Tokyo Paralympic

BHOPAL: Here’a s fun fact: Prachi Yadav, who recently qualified the Tokyo Paralympic, did her daily practice on a ‘jugaad’ boat for almost three years. And it’s very recent that she got the modern boat for practice.
Prachi said that her journey was not easy. “When I started my practice in 2018, there was hardly any awareness on para players in kayaking and canoeing.There was no boat for para players. In such a situation, the biggest challenge for me was to start practicing,” said Prachi. For players, there is a special kind of boat to maintain the balance on the water.
“My coach Mayank Thakur told me that he would construct a prototype of the boat. I was not sure how to start practice on it. But, when I used the boat, I found that it was efficient,” said Prachi.
Coach Thakur said that he used an oil drum to maintain balance of the boat. “I fixed the drum with a pair of bamboo on one side of the boat. “It was not possible to arrange a proper modern boat so this ‘jugaad’ was the only option for Prachi,” said Thakur. Prachi practiced on Jugaad Boat for almost three years. Thakur even constructed the modern boat for Prachi. “Original para canoe boat costs Rs 5 lakh. However, we have made the new boat for just Rs 25,000. Prachi has been practicing on it for the past few months,” said Thakur.