Satara boy defies all odds to bag bronze medal at IMA

DEHRADUN: For the

family

of Kuldeep Nanasaheb Pawar, a newly-commissioned

officer

from

Satara

in Maharashtra, watching the 21-year-old receive a bronze medal for his meritorious performance at the Indian Military Academy was a dream come true. Behind the youngster’s success is the tale of an entire family’s struggle and sacrifice.

A tuition teacher by profession, Nanasaheb Pawar, father of the officer, recalls how he often found it difficult to make ends meet, let alone enrol his children in elite private schools. “What more does a father want than watching his son being rewarded by top military officials of the country? All our struggles have ended today,” he said, with tears of joy in his eyes.

Kuldeep carved out his path to success quite early in life by securing admission to Sainik School, Satara, in the open category. With a score of 95% in class 10 and 83% in class 12, he also cleared the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam in the very first attempt. Asked about his inspiration to join the armed forces, Kuldeep said, “I have seen my family struggle a lot. I really wanted to do something for them. The sense of discipline that Sainik School inculcated in me was fascinating. This motivated me to join the Army.” Adjusting the star on his shoulder, his mother added, “This is the happiest day of my life. He has always been a good student and now he has made all of us proud by getting ready to serve the motherland.”