Havildar Soman Rana was injured by a mine blast while serving with his battalion on December 1, 2006 and lost his right leg. While most individuals would consider losing a limb to be the end of their sporting careers, Rana, in the spirit of the Indian Army, overcame his concerns and continued his para-athletics training with tenacity.
Fifteen years later, Rana, aged 38, has qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics in the seated shot put in the F-57 category, which will be held between August 24 and September 5.
Rana, who received his training at the Army Paralympic Node, which is based at the Bombay Engineer Group and Centre in Pune and is run by the Army Sports Control Board, is a successful international para-athlete who now ranks second in the world in his category.
Rana got enrolled into the Army Paralympic Node in 2017 after coming from a poor background in Shillong, Meghalaya. The node gives particularly abled troops a place to participate in parasports and build a positive outlook on life.
‘Since its raising in 2017, para-athletes of the node have won 28 international medals and 60 national medals. They have represented and won medals for India in Asian Para Games, World Military Games, World Para Championship and World Grand Prix events,’ said a statement from the Army issued through the Defence Public Relations Officer (PRO), Pune.
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Despite the Covid limitations, Rana earned a gold medal in the Tunis World Para Athletics Grand Prix and two gold medals and a silver medal in the XIX National Athletics Para Championship earlier this year. ‘Soman Rana has done our country proud and is an inspiration for all the para-athletes in the Indian Army. He is a strong medal prospect to win a medal in Tokyo Paralympics,’ said the press statement.
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