KUMAR Rakesh

Classification
Open (worldarchery.sport, 28 Mar 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (dailyexcelsior.com, 06 Jun 2019)

Impairment Details
In 2007 he was involved in a road accident which resulted in paraplegia. He was in a car with seven other passengers travelling from Jammu, India, to his home in Katra. Soon after leaving Jammu, the car skidded off the road and fell 400 feet into a gorge. Five of the nine people in the car died. "I was pulled out by locals and police. I was awake, but couldn't move a limb." (dailyexcelsior.com, 06 Jun 2019; thedispatch.in, 16 May 2019)

General
MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES
Before his accident he worked at a roadside shop and helped his family with living costs. Following his accident he struggled to accept he could no longer provide for them in the same way, which resulted in three suicide attempts. "From [my accident] my life changed. It was very tough for me to live a normal life. I was on a bed for at least six months but after three or four years, when I'd recovered, I realised that now I couldn't move on my legs. So I had to do something, and my family's financial condition was also not good. Somewhere in my mind, it was hurting me that my family couldn't bear the cost of my treatment. So three times I tried to commit suicide, but my family and friends saved me." (indiatimes.com, 28 Feb 2021)