Pune, Nov 9: Flight Lieutenant RK Herojit, who sustained a spinal cord injury during parachute landing from a Kiran trainer jet in Secunderabad on August 22, 2011,won the bronze medal at the 17th National Para Swimming Championship on Tuesday at Udaipur. Herojit is currently posted at the Air Force Station, Pune, on ground duty and had been practicing swimming at the Bombay Engineering Group and Centre for the last six months. He is the youngest son of RK Muktasana and RK Ibetombi Devi of Singjamei Mathak Chongtham Leikai. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy(NDA), Herojit was awarded the academy blazer for swimming, sports insignia for excellence in sports and won the silver medal for the best cadet in physical training (119 course).Sources in BEG claimed that the officer is quite particular about his practice session. “Since the officer is wheelchair-bound, the centre has appointed two personnel to assist him during his training session. After completing his duty at the Air Force Station, the officer comes to practise at BEG in the evening. It shows his tenacity and sincerity,” a BEG officer told TOI. The centre has established a dedicated facility for swimmers to practice. They have also appointed qualified coaches to train young recruits of the army. The championship was held in Udaipur by the Para Swimming Association, under the aegis of the Paralympic Committee of India from Nov 4 to Nov 8.
