Devendra Jhajharia wins Sportstar Aces Para Sports Sportsman of the Decade

Jhajharia, who was the first Paralympian to be awarded the Padma Shri in 2012, was bestowed with India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, in 2017.

Devendra Jhajharia with the Sportstar Aces Sportsman of the Decade (Para Sports) Awards.

Devendra Jhajharia, the only Indian to win medals at two Paralympic Games, was named the Sportsman of the Decade (Para Sports) at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards.

“First of all, I’d like to thank Sportstar for such a big honour, the Sportsperson of the Decade award. I’m happy that this shining trophy will be in my life always and it will motivate me. It will inspire and give confidence to all our para-sportspersons. This day is special to me. With our training going on for the Tokyo Paralympics, I’d like to tell my fellow countrymen that I will give my best to win another gold medal, a third gold medal – that is my target,” said Jhajharia.

The javelin thrower hit a purple patch at the beginning of the past decade, achieving success across all major competitions in the F46 category. He won gold at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, with a throw of 57.03m – India’s only medal at the event. The following year, he won silver at the Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea. In 2015, Jhajharia went to Doha as the reigning world champion, but failed to win back-to-back gold medals, instead settling for silver despite an effort of 59.06m.

 

In 2016, Jhajharia replicated his success from 12 years previously when he had won gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympics with a world record throw of 62.15m. At the Rio Games, he took top honours with a 63.97m throw that broke his own mark set a dozen years before.

The first Paralympian to be awarded the Padma Shri in 2012, Jhajharia was bestowed with India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, in 2017.

The 2021 edition of the Sportstar ACES Awards honoured the Giants of the Decade in Indian sport, with the winners being assessing on their performance and consistency from 2011 to 2020. Eleven awards were presented under the popular choice category, which was open to public voting, along with 14 jury awards as well as special recognition awards under two new categories – Sports for Good and Giants off the Field – that recognise the work of organisations and individuals who have used sports for the betterment of society.