A seasoned judoka with national and international medals to his name, Harshdeep Singh Brar (81 kg) is no stranger to the crests and troughs of life.He is now on the comeback trail after his doping ban was recently revoked by the Judo Federation of India (JFI).The son of a middle-class farmer from Bathinda, Brar has been training at the famous Shaheed Bhagat Singh Judo Training Centre in Gurdaspur for the past decade.Under the guidance of coach Dev Singh Dhaliwal, Brar has represented India at the Asian Games, Asian Championships, Asian Cadet Championships and the FISU World University Games.Brar’s journey from a farming family to representing his country is a testament to hard work, dedication and determination.“Ever since I spotted him as a youngster, Harshdeep has been known for his hard work. Actually, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. His colleagues and coaches, including myself, wanted him to become a top-drawer judoka. The coaching culture is one where everyone is committed to each other’s success,” said Dhaliwal, a retired senior coach with the Punjab Sports Department.Notably, Brar is the recipient of this year’s Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award. The judoka is now laser-focused on securing a berth in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.In 2023, he suffered a setback when he was banned from competing for a doping offence. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) found performance-enhancing substances in his body, following which he was handed a ban.“Ever since that day, I have never forgotten that this is a world upon which the sun does rise. I always knew I would be back on the mats soon and that a day would come when I would make my country proud,” he said.He refused to let the doping episode derail his career. Instead, he remained committed to the sport he loves and continued to train diligently at the Gurdaspur centre.At the recently concluded Senior National Championship, he won a bronze medal — a sign that he is back with a bang and has now set his sights firmly on Los Angeles.“Dream as big as you can, and anything is possible. I have always believed that gold medals are not really made of gold. They are made of sweat, determination — and a hard-to-find alloy called guts,” Brar said.