A 10-year-old girl who was not able to walk 4 years ago, yesterday marched to receive this year's National Bravery Award from President Ram Nath Govind. 

Adrika Goyal along with her brother Kartik Goyal from Madhya Pradesh was given away the National Bravery Award which was also merged with Bal Shakti Puraskar for the bravery and courage they had shown during the riots at Morena in April last year. 

On 2nd April 2018, a riot took place in Morena, a small town in Madhya Pradesh when both Adrika and Kartik showed their bravery by helping the passengers of Uttar Pradesh- Chhattisgarh Express train who got stuck inside the train as the rioters were throwing stones on the train and passengers were held captive. They had no food or water with them. In this situation both the Goyal siblings without giving a second thought reached the place with food, water, medicine and first aid for the passengers in the train. Not thinking of the political issues and the consequences they just had a simple thought of helping them. "We thought how we could have felt had we been in that situation. So we gathered courage and helped the passengers as much as possible," said 10-year-old Adrika to TOI.

On this, her father added, “Our home is just 200 meters away from Morena station and both the kids wanted to help the passengers. They ran from one coach to other to provide water and food items to the passengers. Even we were not aware that they were helping the passengers in a situation when protestors were pelting stones on the train. Soon, their videos and photos went viral on social media. Others also joined us and started helping passengers." Goyal told TOI.

Her proud father recollects but this was not the case 4 years back. Adrika is a real fighter. She was just 6 years old and was in her house in Morena, Madhya Pradesh where the fire took place. She tried desperately but was not able to rescue herself. She was badly caught into the fire and her legs were severely injured. 

This incident affected her a lot....not only physically but also mentally. She didn't respond to any of the treatments by the doctor and finally, the doctors told the family that she would never be able to walk in her life. Day by day she was getting depressed. 

“It was very painful for me to see my kid facing such huge problems. Doctors suggested that I need to help her as it may end in depression for Adrika,” said Goyal to TOI. 

He also added mentally dejected Adrika told him, “Despite treatment, I was not able to stand properly. Several people had started showing pity on my situation. I was also very upset and felt dejected.” 

It was then her father introduced Taekwondo to her. She was a quick learner, she was awarded the black belt in less than two years of time. This gave her tremendous confidence and boost her morale. She then trained Taekwondo to more than 20,000 children. 

Little Adrika has many achievements to her credit. She has won a gold medal in International English Olympiad. She has been awarded for her multi-talent by our defence minister N Sitharaman. She is also a district brand ambassador of, "Beti Bachao - Save Girl Child Campaign".

She is also a world record holder and now, is known for her bravery. She has set an example for others. An inspiration to many proves that nothing is impossible in life.