Rattan Jangra - with a dream in the heart and a hole in the pocket

New Delhi, Sep 26 (UNI) An ayurvedic practitioner by profession, Rattan Dev Jangra doesn't have a pill for this ill. Despite having a back-walk Guiness Book record under his belt, the walker is convinced that the system is hell-bent on scuttling his Olympics dreams.

For a walker who should be toiling in the tracks, the ''54-year-young' Jangra is sweating under the scorching sun these days in different parts of the capital, protesting against an ''injustice'' and hoping someone would take note and help him open the closed doors.

''I stood second in the trial for 50km walk before Athens Olympics and after the number one sustained injury, I was the automatic choice. But for some reason or the other, they decided to send someone else who could not even qualify in the trials at Athens.

''Since then, I have been running from pillar to post. I staged 'dharna' at the Parliament and also near the Rashtrapati Bhavan, met Member of Parliaments and Sports Ministers but all in vain. Now I would like to reach more people with my grievance,'' Jangra told UNI here today.

He insists he's a victim of casteism in Haryana and that's the sole reason behind the state govermnent's ''step-motherly'' treatment.

And the walker is not ready either to accept that his age goes against him.

''Long distance walkers are generally in their 40s and I'm always ready to compete with younger opponents. But you can't slam the door on anyone without giving him a chance to prove himself,'' he argued.

Jangra claimed he has been a promising athlete in his school days but deaths of his father and elder brother meant he had to quit spots and instead earn bred for his family.

''Somewhere I read about a back-walk record and thought I can better it. And that how it all started. Jangra back-walked his way to fame, travelling 181 kms from Hissar to Delhi's Rajghat where the then Chief Minister Sahib Singh received him.

He entered the Guiness Book covering 164km non-stop in December 1998 in 20 hours and 40 minutes.

''Someone then told me to concentrate on 50km walking, which is an Olympic event and so I stopped back-walk. I had dreams of making it to the Olympics. I can match, if not better, Robert Korzeniowski's (Gold medal winning effort of) 3:38.46, which he created in Athens. But I need some support to do that,'' he rued.

Jangra recalled during his 'dharna' before the Parliament, Mani Shankar Aiyar had sympathised with him and even wrote to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi to look into the issue but nothing really change.

''Now Mr Aiyar is the Sports Minister but unfortunately, things remain the same,'' he rued.

''My running shows barely last two months and it's very difficult for me to continue. Thank god, my wife, children and friends support me. Otherwise, I would have hung up my boots long ago,'' Jangra said.

Just to get a practice of running on synthetic tracks, Jangra has shifted to Hissar, near the Giri Centre and it costs him three thousand per month, in addition to the separation from his family, to pursue his dream.

''I meet patients in day time and then from 3-6 in the morning, I'm out in the road, practising every day in Hissar. I left my previous job because that didn't allow me the time to practise,'' he explained.

Asked what he would do next, Jangra said he would stage an agitation in the Jantar Mantar area tomorrow and then in some other parts of the capital.

''I'm a lonely person, with no help from the state and central governments. So far, it has been a solitary effort but I have my limitation also. I'm not asking for the moon, just give me a chance to prove myself and then throw me away if I don't live upto the expectations,'' he added.

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