Ace bodybuilder takes physio classes to earn living, IOA comes to succour
Nadim Siraj
Dec 27, 2008 at 0319 hrs
The world’s top muscleman in 66-kg bantam weight category was burdened with multiple problems —- abject poverty, father battling with cancer and a desperate pursuit for a modest job to make ends meet.
His achievement, very few Indians managed in recent decades, has brought no change to his life, as he struggles in his dilapidated 10x8 feet room in the lower middle-class locality in Manicktala.
Samir’s mother died years ago and his father, who contracted lung cancer at the local chemical shop where he worked for years, is fighting for life. Amid these, the 28-year-old sportsman is struggling to run his kitchen and keep up with bodybuilding expenses by taking physiotherapy classes. He requires nearly Rs 10,000 per month to keep his sport going, besides the costs of his father’s treatment and other expenses.
The administrative apathy surprises more considering his track record—- national champion for quite a few times over the last decade.
His life saw a ray of hope when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took cognisance of his case following a report in The Indian Express in mid-October.
Subsequently, the Athletics Commission, a wing of the IOA, contacted him and is now trying to persuade the Union Sports Ministry to provide him with a long-term financial cover.
Yashwant Singh, director of the Central government’s Arjuna Awards Committee and chairman of the IOA’s Athletics Commission, called him over to the IOA office in New Delhi and arranged a meeting with IOA secretary-general Randhir Singh last week. Yashwant Singh told The Indian Express, “We have spoken to him and will advocate his case with the Union Sports Ministry.”
Randhir Singh is also learnt to be quite satisfied with Samir and is keen on supporting his case at the ministry. The IOA has also suggested him to apply for the Arjuna Award. Submission of nomination forms for the top sporting award is open till March 2009.
Said an upbeat Samir after returning from Delhi: “I am quite satisfied. I am also keen on the Arjuna nomination, which I will submit soon.”
For nearly 10 years, he’s been trying to get a decent job. Earlier he also applied for a job with the Income Tax department but could not get through. He has even filed an RTI with the department to seek justice over his rejection.