2021 World Para Taekwondo Championships: Aruna Tanwar hopes her physio will help her recover from leg injury sustained at Paralympic Games

Aruna Tanwar, India’s World Para taekwondo bronze medallist, is yet to recover from a hairline fracture in the right leg sustained during the Tokyo Paralympic Games held in September.

Since Haryana’s 21-year-old international para-athlete is still undergoing rehabilitation in Rohtak, it will hamper her preparations for the upcoming World Para Taekwondo Championships in December.

“I am yet to start my practice because I haven’t recovered from a leg injury sustained in September," said Aruna. "There is a pain in my right leg, which is one of the main reasons for the delay in training for the December World Para Taekwondo competition."

The taekwondo discipline made its debut during the rescheduled Summer Tokyo Paralympic Games in Japan.

Aruna was the only Indian athlete to get a wildcard entry for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. She lost in the quarterfinals of the K43 under 49 kg category and injured her right leg during the bout.

“Initially I thought it was a minor injury," recalls Aruna. "But later it turned out to be a hairline fracture in the right leg. It was a bad outing for me. That is all I can say now."

Aruna said it has been more than a month and the injury still hurts her. Since there is pain in her leg it has restricted her from getting down to serious training.

Medical experts attending to her have advised her medication to reduce the pain. She is also taking the help of physio to get back to practice as early as possible.

“To recover from the injury, I am taking medicine to reduce the pain," Aruna continued. "There is also a physio to help me to recover from the injury. I hope the treatment will enable me to get back to prepare for December World Para Taekwondo Championships."

The 2019 World Para Taekwondo Championships, held in Turkey, saw nearly 400 athletes from 70 nations compete.

The 2021 edition is expected to see a surge in the number of athletes, including those who won medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, said Aruna.

According to her, the December World Para Taekwondo Championships is important for her as she wants to make an impact at the world level. There is also a re-classification of her weight category.

“During the world competition there will be a re-classification of my weight category," said Aruna. "I will compete in under-47 weight category instead of U49 kg."

Aruna knows it will be a challenging task for her to regain lost fitness and perform up to her potential at the World Para Taekwondo scheduled to be held in December in Turkey.

The Haryana athlete won a bronze medal at the 2019 edition of the World Para Taekwondo Championships.

“Given the fact I haven’t been training for the last six weeks, it will be tough to win back-to-back medals at the Worlds," she said. "I am working with my physio to get back to practice."