Bhadrak: People who have seen Prafulla Masant selling vegetables near Loknath temple here, wondered why the Taekwondo coach is doing this. He had once won a gold medal in a competition at New Delhi.
The 36-year old, also called Pappu, sells vegetables from 6 am to 12pm and then goes home for lunch. He also spares time for Taekwondo.
Pappu has been coaching youths in Taekwondo in Bhadrak and Jajpur – four days a week at the Bhadrak Nehru Stadium and three days at VN College grounds in Jajpur. Around 200 youths receive training from him. He earns handsomely from Taekwondo coaching.
Pappu was born to Abhimanyu and Shantilata in Santhia village. His father was a tea vendor, and mother a homemaker. Financial problems were a major hurdle for his studies, and he dropped out after Class V.
From childhood Pappu had a passion for Taekwondo. “I was trained in the martial art by coach Diptiranjan Mohapatra at the Nehru Stadium and then by Gopal Chandra Ray,” he recalled.
Afterwards, he never looked back and went on to take part at the district, state and national-level Taekwondo competitions. He excelled in the competitions held at Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi and Nainital. Pappu won a gold medal in New Delhi, silver and bronzes at others.
Pappu has received tons of accolades after successfully participating in competitions at Cuttack Barabati Stadium, Bhanjakala Mandap, Berhampur and Rourkela.
He uses a major part of his earnings from vegetable sales to buy dress material and kits for poor students learning Taekwondo. He himself is a black belt (dan) holder.
Pappu said it was difficult to groom sporting talent in his district due to lack of infrastructure. He regretted that Bhadrak does not have an indoor stadium.
PNN
