The tribal girl who picked wood won gold medal: 'Khelo India' completed 400 meters race in 56 seconds

Posted on 14th Jun 2022 by rohit kumar

A tribal girl from Andhra Pradesh has won the gold medal in the 400 meters race in Khelo India. In the ongoing \'Khelo India Youth Games-2022\' in Haryana, 19-year-old Kunja Rajitha secured the first position by completing this race in just 56 seconds.

 

Kunja comes from a remote tribal village in Andhra Pradesh. She used to pick wood in the forests with her parents till recently.

 

The family had come after migrating from Chhattisgarh

 

Kunja had migrated from Chhattisgarh to Andhra Pradesh with her parents and three siblings. The Naxalites had a lot of influence in their area in Chhattisgarh. To escape, he decided to flee. But there is no road till the village of Kunja, 340 km from Alluri district headquarters in Andhra Pradesh. Due to the migration, Kunja and his family do not even have any documents. Because of this, they do not get any help from the government.

 

The family survives by selecting wood

 

Having no other source of income, Kunja and the rest of his family select dry wood from the forest. By selling it in the market, his house runs in some way. Kunja also used to select wood till recently. Along with picking wood, Kunja along with her brothers and sisters used to go to school 10 km away from home on foot. Kunja completed her studies up to class VIII from here.

 

Hostel changed life

 

After 8th, Kunja got admission to a government hostel. Where she started her further studies. Seeing his fitness here, the teacher advised Kunja to try his hand at sports. After which Kunja started running. Because of Kunja\'s dedication, he was also provided a coach in the hostel. After which Kunja\'s professional training started.

 

Kunja\'s dream is to win an Olympic medal

 

Talking to \'The New Indian Express\', Kunja said that his next goal is to bring medals for the country to the Olympics.

 

Kunja has won medals in many matches in the past as well. She stood second in the \'Khelo India Youth Games\' held in Assam in 2018.

 

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