Tridib BaparnashNew Delhi, Aug. 1 -- A mine blast changed one life. A road accident changed another. In Glasgow, Subedar Soman Rana and Shubham Juyal turned those tragedies into a golden chapter for Indian para sport.
Long before he became India's first Commonwealth Games champion in the men's F57 shot put, Soman Rana was known for throwing punches instead of iron balls.
The 43-year-old from Bihar was among India's promising boxers, representing the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) in the middleweight division at the 2005 Senior National Boxing Championships. At that stage, few could have imagined that boxing would not define his sporting career.
Everything changed on December 1, 2006, during his posting in 2/8 Gorkha Rifles, serving...