Gurugram: Some players whose stories have been quite challenging, yet they have won medals for the country and have brought glory to their country. Haryana has always been the leading State in the country in the field of sports. It has produced the greatest players in various disciplines. But there are some players who, despite having the skills, are unable to progress and are left behind due to lack of money or other support. Gurugram’s M3M Group philanthropic arm, M3M Foundation, by selecting such talented and needy players and providing them scholarships, not only improves their future but is also making an important contribution in helping them leave their mark in the field of sports at the global level.
Let us know about some such players who have brought glory to India across the world by winning gold and silver medals in the recent Asian Games 2023 held in China. Currently, there are nine disabled players whom the M3M Foundation is supporting through scholarships.
Pranav Soorma
Faridabad
Pranav suffers from a spinal cord injury, but did not let his courage fall and won a gold medal in the Asian Para Games 2023.
In the Asian Para Games 2023, Pranav Soorma of Faridabad made Haryana famous across the world by winning the gold medal in the Asian Para Games with a throw of 30.01 meters in the men’s club throw F51 event. Pranav Soorma is a Lakshya Scholar of M3M Foundation, a social organisation based in Gurugram. When Pranav Soorma was 16 years old, he met with an accident, injuring his spinal cord, which rendered him paralysed. Pranav decided to participate in sports in 2018. He is now a professional sportsman. M3M Foundation provided every possible help to support them, and today, he says that the way M3M Foundation helped him in this journey is commendable. He won the silver medal in the Beijing Grand Prix World Para Athletics in 2019. He recently won the gold medal in the Para Asia Games.
Sakshi Kasana
Ghaziabad
Sakshi was unable to walk after suffering a spine injury. She became confined to a wheelchair. Despite this, she won a bronze in the Asian Para Games 2023.
Sakshi Kasana is a resident of Uttar Pradesh, Sharifabad Rajpur, Aslatpur Farakh Nagar, Ghasiabad. M3M Foundation awarded a scholarship to Sakshi Kasana. She is a para-athlete of the F55 category. She won the bronze medal in the Discus Throw F-54/F55 event at the Asian Para Games 2023.
In 2017, a road accident changed her life. She suffered a spine injury due to this. She was unable to walk and was wheelchair-bound. After leaving her BDS studies midway, she graduated from the School of Open Learning, Delhi University. While pursuing her post-graduation, Sakshi got involved in para sports. She participated in para sports competition at the national level in 2021. Sakshi went on to win a silver medal in the discus throw, a silver in shot put and a gold medal in the discus throw in the Italy Grand Prix competition.
Pooja
Tauru Block, Nuh District
When Pooja was a child, she fell into a well, resulting in a spinal cord injury. Despite this, she did not let her disability dominate her.
M3M Foundation scholar, 35-year-old Pooja won the silver medal in the Discus Throw F-54/F55 event at the Asian Para Games 2023. Pooja Yadav won the bronze medal in the javelin throw with her best performance in the World Para-Athletics Championship held in Paris in July 2023. She also won a gold medal in discus throw and a silver in javelin in the Fifth Indian Open National Para International Championship held in Bangalore this year.
Saraswati
Padheni Village
Tauru Block, Nuh District
Fifteen-year-old- Saraswati is intellectually challenged. She hit the headlines when she won a gold medal for the country in the 500-metre roller skating at the Special Olympics World Games in June 2023, in Berlin, Germany.
These Lakshya scholars of the M3M Foundation have always made India proud.
Dr Payal Kanodia, Chairman and Trustee of M3M Foundation, congratulated all the players for bringing medals and said that the Foundation gives scholarships to encourage students and players. The Foundation fully support all these players. She went on to say, “We are extremely proud that our players are making India proud at the global level. Our objective is to encourage emerging talent in the field of sports. We identify and help players from across the country. We will continue to help the players in future too.”
