Berhampur: He was the weightlifter titan who once lifted India’s pride to dazzling heights, yet his final journey slipped by in poignant silence with an unending wait for help from the government. Bijay Kumar Satpathy, the illustrious son of Berhampur and Arjuna Award winner, passed away at his Somnath Nagar 4th lane residence on Sunday evening at the age of 73, leaving behind an aching void in the sporting fraternity of Odisha.

Bijay’s life was a saga of grit and glory. He received Arjuna Award from then President Giani Zail Singh on August 29, 1982. He was the first weightlifter of Odisha to receive Arjuna Award.

Bijay was the National Champion in weightlifting for five consecutive years from 1977-78 held at Calcutta till 1982-83. He was adjudged as the Best Weightlifter of India at Cochin in Kerala in 1981-82. Bijay was placed 5th in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) at Cardiff in 1979-80 and 2nd in 1980-81 CWG in Auckland. He bagged gold in 1981 Mini Commonwealth Games at Brisbane.

The irony is that the State government never arranged a meeting to felicitate Bijay Kumar Satpathy since he received Arjuna Award 43 years ago except the fact that former chief minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik awarded him Rs 10,000.

“It really pained me when my application form to get a house plot or government incentive was missing from the Department of Sports, government of Odisha,” Bijay had said.

Bijay started weightlifting when he was a student of Municipal High School, Aska Road, in 1968. He joined the Indian Navy as a Leading Electrical Mechanic Power (LEMP) in sports quota in 1974 and continued in the job for 10 years. He joined the Indian Railways as a Guard in 1985 and took VRS in 2009 after serving 24 years.

His health deteriorated during the last four years. In the autumn of his years, recognition seemed to dim, as his demise came quietly, without the grandeur his monumental contributions deserved.