Marvels of para sports

A video of an Indian archer has been making the rounds on the internet over the past week, leaving everybody spellbound. One needs to watch it to believe it.

Seated on a chair, Sheetal Devi with tightly plaited hair, chooses an arrow from her right feet to load it into the bow (again with the right feet), then she clips a small instrument - that is attached to her right shoulder - to the back of the arrow from her mouth, raises the bow with her right leg, takes aim before pulling the string from the right shoulder to release the arrow towards the target.

Bullseye! A faint but the most endearing of smiles lights up the face of the 16-year-old. For a viewer, it is one of those moments when words dry up to describe the feeling of what they just witnessed. 

Sheetal, who was born with no arms, shot six straight 10s in the last two sets to snatch a come-from-behind gold in the women’s individual compound event. The gritty teen from a remote village of Loi Dhar in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir also won a second gold in the mixed team and a silver in the women’s doubles event at the Asian Para Games that concluded last Sunday.  

Whether it is the IAS officer-turned-badminton Paralympic silver medallist, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, who won gold in the men’s singles SL4 or the chartered accountant cum chess player Darpan Irani who clinched two golds, there was no dearth of awe-inspiring tales from every corner of the week-long quadrennial bash.

Take, for instance, Karnataka’s Rakshita Raju. Born visually impaired, the 21-year-old was spotted by long distance runner-turned-coach Rahul Balakrishna in one of the state para athletics meets at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium a few years ago. Balakrishna, seeing the spark in the determined youngster, decided to take a bank loan of Rs 2 lakh to fund the training and competition expenses of the 21-year-old from Guddanahalli in Mudigere taluk of Chikamagalur. Rakshita won the gold in the women’s 1500m T11 category. 

It is such stories of overcoming not just physical limitations but mental barriers, social norms and more that contributed to India winning 111 medals (29 gold, 31 silver, 51 bronze) in Hangzhou, which is the highest-ever in any multi-sporting event for the country so far. This was a big leap from the previous best haul of 72 at the 2018 edition of the Games - a parallel sport event for Asian athletes with disabilities, introduced only in 2010 where India had won a total of 14 medals (1 gold, 4 silver, 9 bronze). 

That’s 14 to 111, one gold to 29 in 13 years is a graph that this community of sportspersons - often neglected and left fighting for their fair due in general - are immensely proud of. 

“We have so many role models now. That has been one of the main reasons for such a rapid growth,” says Deepa Malik, silver medallist in the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the current president of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).

“Watching Avani Lekhara (shooting), Sumit Antil (javelin throw) or Prachi Yadav (canoeing) compete is motivating others to get out, play and push boundaries. They are inspiring not only those with disabilities but people in general. Sport has always been more than just winning medals. It is about changing lives.

“The trick was also ensuring that we participated in a variety of sports to add more medals. The increase in the number of women is overwhelming. Nine out of the 29 golds were won by female para athletes,” she adds.

On the broader perspective, though there isn’t a radical change in the mindset of considering people with physical disabilities as serious athletes, the success at the para Asiad, however, has spurred conversations among the public. 

“Winning and winning big is the only way to spread awareness,” feels Balakrishna, coach and guide runner to Rakshita. 

“Most of them come from rural areas with humble backgrounds. Society and parents especially are still wary about such kids taking up sport. There is fear and anxiety but what they don’t realise is that this platform helps them become independent, confident, self-sufficient, find employment and lead a respectable life,” adds the 31-year-old who also trains two other blind athletes Radha Venkatesh of Bamsamudra village in Chitradurga, Karnataka and Lalitha Killaka, a tribal girl from Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, who finished second behind Rakshita to win silver. 

As many as 40 out of the 103 core group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) are para athletes, giving the ecosystem a massive boost in terms of inclusivity. Now that the elite are taken care of by the government, the work at the grassroots is still the efforts put in by multiple stakeholders such as individuals, NGOs and sports organisations such as Olympic Gold Quest and GoSports Foundation in talent spotting, nurturing and providing holistic support to an athlete with disabilities being treated on par with a normal sportsperson.

“From foreign exposure to nutrition, the training and preparations are becoming professional. OGQ and GoSports have not only contributed the above but also sponsor the best prosthetics and wheelchairs. The one area we lack in is having specialised coaches for para athletes,” observes Deepa. 

“It is very easy to become a para coach contrary to the beliefs that it is tough. Because it involves tweaking some minor rules. At the end of the day it’s the understanding of the body and mind ultimately. For this reason, we (PCI) conduct a lot of webinars for coaches and players to educate them on technique, anti-doping, mental health etc.” 

Riding on the wave, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur while meeting the para Asiad winners announced: "Khelo India Para Games is in the works. We are making some new centres for para Games in Bhopal and a few other places. We will also talk to some state governments that some modifications be made in them so they can be used for Games."

A much-needed progression for sure, but better understanding of their complexities, better disability-friendly infrastructure, better knowledge of how to achieve these remain the prerequisites to reach bigger milestones. 

Sheetal Devi 

Sumit Antil