From Daily Wage Labourer To Asian Games 2023 Medalist: Ram Baboo's Fascinating Story

A daily wage labourer's son from an impoverished village in Uttar Pradesh, Asian Games bronze medallist race walker Ram Baboo's journey from penury to fame is a fascinating story of a strong-willed man making his own destiny. Baboo, who won a 35km race walk mixed team bronze medal in the Asian Games along with Manju Rani, worked as a waiter to self-finance his athletics training and joined his father in road construction under MGNREGA scheme during the COVID-19 lockdown, as his family was hard-pressed. "I have done everything possible in my life so far, from working as a waiter in Varanasi to digging up pits along with my father for road construction under MGNREGA scheme at our village," the 24-year-old Baboo told PTI in an interview.

"It's about determination and focus on your goal. If you are determined to achieve, you will find ways to reach your goal. That is what I did." Baboo's father works as manual labourer at Behura village at UP's Sonbhadra district, earning Rs 3000 to 3500 per month which is not enough to run a family of six. Baboo is the only son while he has three sisters. His mother is a homemaker and sometimes helps her husband in his work.

"We don't have any land and my father is a labourer. His work is seasonal. During paddy season, he will have more work but in other months his income is less. So, I need to do all these things to realise my dream," he said.

"I was not good at studies and not interested also and so I wanted to make a career in sports." Due to his mother's insistence, Baboo took the entrance examination for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) near his home and got selected. He was admitted to class VI.

Baboo found it tough to follow what was being taught at the school and he began to lose