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Tushar Das with his silver medal at Tatanagar railway station on Saturday. Picture by Bhola Prasad
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Jamshedpur, Feb. 9: The Jan Shatabdi Express from Calcutta chugged into Tatanagar railway station with a special passenger this morning.
An excited father and brother, who escorted Tushar Das from Calcutta, alighted first from the train to a warm welcome from functionaries and coaches of the state unit of Special Olympics Bharat (SOB), who had been eagerly waiting to meet the floor hockey ace who bagged a silver in the 10th World Winter Games held at PyongChang (South Korea).
Tushar was hugged and kissed by officials and coaches who also garlanded him. Father Narayan Das was also feted as Tushar’s brother watched happily.
The player was presented flowers on behalf of T.V. Narendran, president of SOB Jharkhand and Bailey Bodhanwala, area director, who is recovering from ill health.
Composed and a bit tired, Tushar looked content. But he perked up after SOB Jharkhand assistant area director Satbir Singh Sahota and his father hugged him.
Avtar Singh, who is training Tushar for more than eight years now, coach Raj Kumar Singh, his counterpart O.S. Ashok Kumar, school teachers at Asha Kiran K. Gopal Rao and J.N.M. Raju were also present to welcome the hero, who scored the lone goal for the country in the final versus Taepei on February 4. India lost 1-2 in the thrilling summit clash.
“I am very excited about what unfolded in South Korea. I was expecting a medal from my ward,” said the proud father who works at a jewellery-making shop in Sakchi.
Coach Avtar Singh, who offered some tips valuable tips to Tushar before he left for South Korea, said the boy’s game would improve in the months to come. “Tushar's a smart boy who picks up lessons very quickly. He is also a good mover,” he added.
The scene shifted to Tushar’s home in Old Baradwari where mother Tanima and relatives offered him sweets. “It’s a proud moment for us. A silver medal is a big thing,” said Tanima.
According to Sahota, felicitation of Tushar will be organised next week as Narendran is out of station.
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