'She starved so that I could get my diet': Armyman Hokato Sema dedicates Paralympics bronze medal to wife

Hokato Hotozhe Sema from India’s Nagaland scripted history in the Paralympics 2024 by winning a bronze medal in the men’s shot put F57 class. The 40-year-old secured this feat at his debut, with a personal best of 14.65m on his fourth attempt.

Sema is an army man, but his career in sports started in the year 2016 when he started taking shotput seriously. Before Paris 2024, he won the bronze medal in the shotput F-56/57 category event in the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.

"This medal means a lot to me," Sema said. "I am representing India and the Indian Army, because I serve the army back home.

"I am filled with joy as I have done it for them and also for Nagaland, where I am from. I wanted to make all of them proud."

The Dimapur-born’s story of coming back from rock bottom to accomplish the Olympic dream is a story worth telling a hundred times. How he recovered himself from a fatal incident and how his wife became his pillar of strength in the most testing times, is Sema’s story of resilience, perseverance and skill.

Hokato Hotozhe Sema: Lost his leg in a landmine blast, not his courage

Hokato Hotozhe Sema is an Indian Army Junior Commissioned (JCO) from Nagaland. He was born in the Niuland district and is employed as a havildar in the army with the 9 Assam Regiment.

In 2002, Sema lost his leg in a landmine blast during an operation at the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir. After surviving the fatal accident, he started playing the shotput at the age of 32. He trained under his coach Rakesh Rawat.

Sema’s wife became his strength during the tough times and sacrificed even her food so that her husband could have “enough money” for the training, Sema said in one of the interviews after the Paris win.

"She has sacrificed a lot for me," he explained. "She has often starved, so that I could eat and continue training because we didn't have enough money to ensure two square meals a day.

"She has been my biggest pillar of support. She has picked me up every time I felt like giving up. Without her, I would not have been on the podium today."

With his bronze medal at the Paralympics 2024, he became the first medallist from his state, Nagaland.

In a long poignant post on social media platform X, Abu Metha, associate vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India, articulates why Sema’s win is significant for Nagaland.

“Because of him, we will have future Champions. He takes forward the legacy of Talimeren Ao and Chekrovolu Swuro... His message is clear — If HOTOZHE could, many more can. Inspiration.”

Iran’s Yasin Khosravi won the gold medal and Brazil’s Thiago Paulino dos Santos won the silver medal in the shot put event at the Paralympics 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)