Devendra Jhajharia

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Devendra Jhajharia is India's first ever gold medalist at the Paralympics. He is the one-armed javelin thrower from Rajasthan. He won it at Athens on 21 September 2004 in the javelin throw. He set up a new record with 62.15m eclipsing the old one of 59.77m. He also won the gold medal in the 8th FESPIC Games in Korea, 2002. He hails from Churu District in Rajasthan. Devendra is a Class IV employee with the Indian Railways.

He had lost his left hand in an accident. Devendra was a class four school student when he climbed a tree where he could not see an electric wire and touched it. His left arm was so badly burnt that doctors had to amputate it.

He is now preparing for the Beijing Paralympics. He was awarded the Arjuna award for his outstanding achievements. Devendra Jhajharia was honoured by the Governor of Rajasthan on 10 June 2005 with the award of Maharana Pratap Puraskar, the highest award for games in Rajasthan. The award carries a cash of Rs 10000/-.