This medal makes up for all the hardships he faced: Paralympic medallist Yogesh Kathuniya's mother

When para-athlete Yogesh Kathuniya won silver in men's discus throw (F56) at the

Tokyo Paralympics

on Monday morning, the 24-year-old could hardly keep his emotions in check. Holding the tricolour in his hand as he celebrated, Yogesh wiped tears from his eyes and told the media present in the stadium, "I feel really good to have won the silver. I want to thank my mummy the most for supporting me the way she did."

When Yogesh was nine, he was diagnosed with

Guillain-Barre

syndrome, a disorder that causes the body's immune system to attack the nerves. This left young Yogesh confined to a wheelchair for three years. It was then that his mother

Meena Devi

took it upon herself to rehabilitate her son. Meena studied physiotherapy on her own to look after Yogesh. "Doctors in Chandigarh, where he was being treated, had said he'd never walk again. But I trusted God and my hard work. We took him to so many doctors in Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and UP and gave him the best care we could. He eventually did walk again and look at him now. It makes up for all those years of hardships he faced, we all faced," says Meena.

Born in Bahadurgarh on the Delhi-Haryana border, Yogesh studied in various schools in Haryana and Delhi, before doing his graduation from

Kirori Mal College

in Delhi University. He picked up sports during his final years of school and given his disability, it was a challenge for him. His mother recounts, "This is a dream come true for us, the result of years of struggle and hard work. When he was on wheelchair, he would cry because he couldn’t play with his friends. Wahaan se yahan tak ka safar kaafi mushkil raha hai."