Man Posts Pic With Ola Driver, Finds He's An Olympic Athlete
Mumbai-based business Aaryan Singh Kushwah shared a pic with his Ola driver, Parag Patil on X (Twitter), revealing Patil to be a gold medal-winning Indian athlete.
A chance encounter between a Mumbai entrepreneur and his Ola driver has gone viral on social media and simultaneously highlighted the dark reality of the unsung/ less popular sports personalities in India. Aaryan Singh Kushwah, Mumbai-based founder of 90nine.in, one of India's largest youth-led media agencies, recently shared a photo with his Ola driver, Parag Patil, and revealed his extraordinary backstory on X (Twitter). The photo shows smiling Kushwah and Patil standing next to each other behind Patil’s White Ola cab. According to Kushwah’s post, Patil is an Indian athlete who represented India, even in the Olympics. Patil has ranked 2nd in the Triple Jump and 3rd in the Long Jump in Asia. In his post, Kushwah described Patil’s impressive athletic achievements. He wrote that Patil never returned to India without a medal from international sporting events and tournaments. He has won 2 golds, 11 silvers, 3 bronze medals for India. Kushwah also added that despite Patil’s remarkable athletic achievements, he still has no sponsors. Just enough funds to feed his family, not pursue his athletic career. He said that his post wasn’t just a revelation but a call to action, urging people to help sponsor Paras to represent and win for India internationally again. Kushwah’s post quickly gained traction and soon went viral on social media with almost everyone questioning why Indian athletes end up like this. A user commented, “This story is a harsh reminder of why India struggles to produce Olympic medals. Athletes like Parag Patil, despite their talent and achievements, face poor funding, lack of recognition, and zero long-term support. What can we do to fix this broken system and back such talents?” Many appreciated Patil’s athletic career, thanked him for winning medals for India, and affirmed that he deserved a lot. Unfortunately, Parag Patil’s story is not the only one. Several Indian athletes struggle to make ends meet, even after achieving medals & highest accolades internationally. Despite dedicating years to training and bringing pride to India, they lack consistent financial backing and recognition, often forcing them to take up unrelated and/or menial jobs to survive.
