<p>New Delhi: Toman Kumar, the gold-medal winner at the World Archery Para Championships being held in South Korea, etched his success path from the scratch after he suffered a deadly IED blast injury in 2022 during an anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh.</p>.<p>The 30-year-old constable in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has won seven medals till now in international and national para archery tournaments.</p>.A case for good governance in sports .<p>Toman was part of a CRPF unit that was assigned to sanitise a "new target area" in the south Bastar area, one of the worst Naxal violence-affected areas in the country, in February, 2022 when a heavy gunfire ensued between the troops and Naxals.</p>.<p>An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast trapped Toman who was one among the two scouts of the patrol party.</p>.<p>He was seriously injured and had to undergo amputation of his left leg on February 12, 2002, a senior CRPF officer told <em>PTI</em>.</p>.<p>"Toman Kumar joined the CRPF in 2017 and he suffered the extreme trauma and pain of losing a body part when he was just 26 years old and had spent five years in the job. But he never looked back," he said.</p>.<p>He joined a special centre of the force, National Centre for Divyang Empowerment (NCDE), that was opened in 2020 for troops who suffer physical disability during high-risk operations, the officer said.</p>.<p>The NCDE is located in Rangareddy district of Telangana.</p>.<p>Toman began his para archery practice in November 2023 as part of the fifth batch of the skill-development course of the NCDE and he was inducted into the central (main) team of the CRPF a year later in September 2024, he said.</p>.<p>The brave man has participated in four international tournaments, including the one taking place in Gwangju, apart from three national events.</p>.<p>"He has shown that one can continue to serve the country in different ways and even after losing the most valuable part of oneself," another officer said.</p>.<p>The CRPF is the world's largest paramilitary force with about 3.25 lakh personnel. It is the mainstay for internal security duties in the country including conduct of anti-Naxal operations apart from counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency tasks.</p>.<p>According to officials, at least 46 CRPF personnel have lost their limbs in Naxal-triggered IED explosions since 2016.</p>
<p>New Delhi: Toman Kumar, the gold-medal winner at the World Archery Para Championships being held in South Korea, etched his success path from the scratch after he suffered a deadly IED blast injury in 2022 during an anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh.</p>.<p>The 30-year-old constable in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has won seven medals till now in international and national para archery tournaments.</p>.A case for good governance in sports .<p>Toman was part of a CRPF unit that was assigned to sanitise a "new target area" in the south Bastar area, one of the worst Naxal violence-affected areas in the country, in February, 2022 when a heavy gunfire ensued between the troops and Naxals.</p>.<p>An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast trapped Toman who was one among the two scouts of the patrol party.</p>.<p>He was seriously injured and had to undergo amputation of his left leg on February 12, 2002, a senior CRPF officer told <em>PTI</em>.</p>.<p>"Toman Kumar joined the CRPF in 2017 and he suffered the extreme trauma and pain of losing a body part when he was just 26 years old and had spent five years in the job. But he never looked back," he said.</p>.<p>He joined a special centre of the force, National Centre for Divyang Empowerment (NCDE), that was opened in 2020 for troops who suffer physical disability during high-risk operations, the officer said.</p>.<p>The NCDE is located in Rangareddy district of Telangana.</p>.<p>Toman began his para archery practice in November 2023 as part of the fifth batch of the skill-development course of the NCDE and he was inducted into the central (main) team of the CRPF a year later in September 2024, he said.</p>.<p>The brave man has participated in four international tournaments, including the one taking place in Gwangju, apart from three national events.</p>.<p>"He has shown that one can continue to serve the country in different ways and even after losing the most valuable part of oneself," another officer said.</p>.<p>The CRPF is the world's largest paramilitary force with about 3.25 lakh personnel. It is the mainstay for internal security duties in the country including conduct of anti-Naxal operations apart from counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency tasks.</p>.<p>According to officials, at least 46 CRPF personnel have lost their limbs in Naxal-triggered IED explosions since 2016.</p>