From winning bronze medals at Olympics to selling 'gol gappas'

Kiran Sahu was proud of her daughter Sita Sahu when she won two bronze medals in the 2011 Athens Special Olympics. Today, she is proud of her 15-year-old, mentally challenged daughter for “rolling out the perfectly round ‘gol gappas’ and frying them golden brown,” The Times of India reports. Sita returned to her hometown Jabalpur in July 2011 after winning two bronze medals in 200 metres and 1,600 metres from the Special Games. The poverty-stricken Sahu family was delighted as the Social justice minister Gopal Bhargava had just announced Rs 1 lakh for gold, Rs 75,000 for silver and Rs 50,000 for a bronze medal. [caption id=“attachment_693662” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative picture. AFP[/caption] But despite winning two bronze medals, the family didn’t get a single penny, according to a report by Daily Bhaskar. Though supportive of her dreams, Sita’s parents are now teaching her life ‘skills’ that will help her face the real world. “They promised her the moon, but nothing has come her way. Now we have decided to teach her other skills that will help her survive,” says Sita’s mother Kiran Sahu. Less than a month before winning, Sita had also accompanied seven other children to Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence.