“He cannot speak like we do.
He cannot hear like we do.
But he can wrestle these odds better than we do.”
This is the story of Virender Singh, India’s most successful deaf athlete, who is a paradigm of grit, dedication, and hope.
Also known as Goonga Pehelwan, this man has wrestled his way inside the ring to become a World Champion and a Deaflympics gold medalist. He burst into the limelight by giving India its first ever medal, a gold, at Deaflympics in 2005. Four years later, in Taipei, he won the bronze when he was 28 years old. And recently, he won the gold in the freestyle 74kg wrestling event at the World Deaflympics held at Bulgaria in 2013.
He often fails to get the backing of the government, as well as sports authorities, but his hope for the future has not deterred. For instance, he was not allowed to participate in the summer olympics by the Sports Authority of India. The reason stated was that he cannot hear the referee’s whistle. However, Virender claims that it’s not an issue as he can maintain constant eye contact with the referee.
With the hope of making Virender compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, a film by the name Goonga Pehelwan, has been made to fight for this cause – http://www.goongapehelwanthefilm.com/ . KnowYourStar joins in to support and help Virender fight his battles outside the ring.
A special mention and a word of admiration to the three men who constantly work behind the scenes for Virender – Mit Jani, Vivek Chaudhary, and Prateek Gupta. These men selflessly help Virender connect with people, sharing his joy, and ably voicing out his views in times of trials. We, at Know Your Star, were stumped by their passion and dedication during the time of interview. We salute their enthusiasm.
Listen to the conversation that we managed to strike with Virender, as he throws light on his achievements, his ambitions, and his hope for the future. Helping in the communication is one of Virender’s dedicated right hand, Vivek Chaudhary.