Para-shuttler Krishna Nagar’s life has taken a cruel turn, Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist lost his mother in a sudden accident just a few hours before receiving Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in the national sports award ceremony from President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
He was in Delhi, among 11 other Khel Ratna recipients, when this devastating news reached him. Sunil Nagar, Krishna's father, did not initially inform him of his mother's death over the phone. The sad news was finally revealed to the 22-year-old and then he arrived at his house in Jaipur. She was 49 years old.
In a choked voice, Krishna told TOI, “It was November 10 (Wednesday) and I was about to leave for the awards ceremony. It was 12-12:30 pm and I had told my mother to cook food for me. My father had also come home around that time from his work and three of us were having a fun time. I didn’t notice when she headed to the roof. I had taken a shower and was drying my towel when I heard a loud thump. Upon checking, I realised that my mother had fallen to the first floor of our house from the terrace.”
“We immediately rushed her to the hospital and the doctors admitted her to the ICU ward. The doctors assured me that she was showing signs of improvement and I left for Delhi on Thursday. But she died in the hospital last night. She never regained consciousness after the fall,” he added.
This year, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award was given to athletes who have performed incredibly in their respective sports over four years. This year the award is presented to 12 athletes. These are- Neeraj Chopra (Athletics), Ravi Kumar(Wrestling), Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), P.R Sreejesh (Hockey), Avani Lekhara (Para Shooting), Sumit Antil (Para-Athletics), Pramod Bhagat (Para Badminton), Krishna Nagar (Para Badminton), Manish Narwal (Para Shooting), Mithali Raj (Cricket), Sunil Chhetri (Football), Manpreet Singh (Hockey).