Representing the state on several occasions and winning gold medals have never helped Kashinath Das to support himself and his family.
Poverty has forced this 29-year-old sportsman to live as a make-shift shop owner.
A native of Pinchhapal village in Balasore, Das was among 15 gold-medalists from the state who participated in the recently concluded East Zone Kick-Boxing Championship tournament in Kolkata.
He has won four gold medals in rugby and two in national-level taekwondo championships earlier.
Sadly, despite his talent, he has had to struggle to arrange one square meal each day. With no government aid in sight, he ekes out his living by selling garments in a small makeshift shop in Bhubaneswar .
"Apart from participating in sports tournaments across the country, I have been running a garment shop in the unit-II market building area in the capital city," said Kashinath, who did his graduation from a private college.
"I used to earn Rs 100 to Rs 150 a day which is not enough to manage my family comprising me and my parents. Out of my earnings, I also need to keep some money aside for my trips to participate in the tournaments and I also manage a rugby team at my village," he said.
"After I finished my matriculation in 1997, I came to Bhubaneswar to work as a help in a politician's house. Later, I sold newspapers until a kind-hearted person allowed me to set up a garment stall near his shop in the market building," Das said.
"One day I saw a sportsperson being felicitated at a function inside Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium. That day I decided to become a sportsman and began training under Dipti Ranjan Mohapatra," he said. Later, he learnt rugby and kick-boxing while he completed his graduation.
Kashinath Das is a frustrated man today. "Despite my repeated requests, the government has not helped me in any way. I tried getting into the police, but I was denied a job because I couldn't get good marks in the written exam," he said.
"It will also help if I can get a permanent shop in the market building," he added. This apart, Das wants financial assistance for the girls' rugby team he has started. It is the third such team in the state and has around 30 players who have participated in national championship tournaments and won.
Times of India
Penury forces kick-boxing champ to sell clothes
