India’s Best Dancer season 2 contestant Sanket Gaonkar recently lost his father. Sanket shared this heartbreaking news with his fans through social media. Sanket had revealed, during the audition rounds, that his father was suffering from throat cancer and his treatment is ongoing. Along with some pictures with his father, Sanket wrote, “Rest in Peace (RIP), Papa. God keep him happy forever. I love you papa gonna miss you my whole life and see you in heaven one day.”
In one of the episodes, Sanket had shared that in his family his father was the one who supported and motivated him the most. Sanket considered his father his first guru, whether for dancing or life.
Friends and fans of Sanket expressed their sympathies in the comments section. Sanket’s fellow contestant and DID 6 runner-up, Piyush Gurbhele, urged him to keep strong, writing, “Rest in peace, uncle.”
Sanket, from Ankola, Karnataka, is no stranger to dance reality competitions, having previously won ETV Telugu’s Dhee Jodi and DID 6. He said during his audition for IBD 2 that despite winning so many programs, he had to participate in IBD owing to his father’s condition. Sanket stated that he was first made aware of this problem two months ago.
All the money he won from the shows was not enough. He spent all of the money he won on his father’s treatment after having won the reality programs. After Sanket informed the IBD judges about his father’s situation, they helped him to the best of their abilities. In addition, presenter Maniesh Paul said that he has saved a special spot on the sofa for Sanket’s father. So that when he recovers and returns to attend his son’s dance, he would sit in that spot.
Sanket sought to be a participant of India’s best dancers because he required more resources for cancer treatment. Sanket explained that his father had a tube installed around his neck that helped his father in consuming food via it.
