Meet India’s lesser known sporting heroes

Amidst the entire hullabaloo over the Olympics, and India’s performance in it, an Indian contingent set out for Rio for an Olympics of a different kind – the Paralympics which began on September 7, and will go on till September 18. With a total of 19 athletic participating this year, consisting of three women and 16 men, India has sent its largest contingent ever. Our athletes have brought laurels to the country by winning four medals – two Gold, a Silver and a Bronze.

India made its debut at the third Paralympics held in Tel Aviv in 1968, and participated in the 1972 Games in Heidelberg, Germany, as well, however, it did not participate in any other Games until 1984. And while much has been written about the athletes who have won medals for India at the Olympics, very little is mentioned about our Paralympians. We take a look at our Paralympic athletes, who have challenged their disabilities and brought home medals in their respective events:

Cfn Murlikant Petkar: The first Indian athlete to win a medal in the Paralympics, Cfn Murlikant Petkar won Gold in the 1972 Paralympics held in Heidelberg, Germany. Clocking 37.33 second Cfn Petkar set a world record in the 50m freestyle swimming event. The sportsman also participated in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom, and was a finalist in all the events. A private jawan of the Craftsmen rank in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) in the Indian Army, Cfn Petkar sustained severe bullet injuries during the 1965 war against Pakistan, leaving him disabled. Despite being India’s first gold winner at the Paralympics, his name does not figure anywhere in the Paralympic Committee of India, which has records only from the year 1984.

Bhimrao Kesarkar: Paralympic athlete, Bhimrao Kesarkar, brought the Silver home in the Men’s Javelin L6 at the 1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York Paralympics, where India won four medals. At the Games, India finished 37^th out of 54 participating nations.

Joginder Singh Bedi: India’s Joginder Singh Bedi won the SIlver medal at the Men’s Shot Put event, during the 1984 Games. He also won bronze at the Discus and Javelin throw events at the Games. Bedi is the most decorated Paralympian, having won the maximum number of medals by an individual at a Paralympics Games so far.

Devendra Jhajharia: The Paralympic javelin thrower is the first Indian Paralympian to have won two Golds – at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens and, most recently, at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where he won a Gold in the Javelin throw event. At the age of eight, Jhajaria lost his left hand, when he accidently touched a live cable. Dronacharya Awardee and coach RD Singh spotted him while he was competing at the school sports day, and started to coach him. Jhajharia made his international debut in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. At the recent Rio Paralympics, Jhajharia broke his own record with a throw of 63.97 m.

Rajinder Singh Rahelu: The Paralympic powerlifter won a Bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Rajinder Singh Rahelu, who was born to a poor Dalit family in Jalandhar, suffers from infantile paralysis after contracting polio when he was just eight months old. It was the encouragement shown by his friend Surinder Rana, a powerlifter himself, which led Rahelu to take up the sport. The powerlifter has also won a Silver in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow.

Girisha Nagarajegowda: Born with a disability in his left leg, Paralympic high jumper, Girisha Nagarajegowda, represented India in the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games held in London, where he won the Silver medal at the men’s High Jump F-42 category. The Arjuna Awardee and Padma Shri recipient from Karnataka has also won Gold at an Athletics meet in Kuwait.

Mariappan Thangavelu: Twenty-two-year-old Mariappan Thangavelu, who hails from Tamil Nadu, made a leap of 1.89 metres at the men’s High Jump T-42 event, to win Gold at the Rio Paralympics. The son of a daily wage earner, Thangavelu lost a leg at the age of five, when a bus ran over it, crushing it. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J. Jayalalitha has announced an award of Rs 2 crores for the athlete.

Deepa Malik: The first Indian woman to win a medal at a Paralympics event, Deepa Malik won Silver at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics in the Shot Put event. Malik who is a paraplegic and is wheelchair bound, due to a spinal tumour, was the first person to receive a license for invalid rally vehicle, and the first physically challenged person to receive an official rally license from Federation Motor Sports Club of India. The athlete has taken part in several rallies to promote awareness on the fact that disabilities should not hinder one from obtaining independence and self-reliance through driving.

Image: AFP

Varun Singh Bhati: Paralympic high jumper, Varun Singh Bhati recorded his personal best jump of 1.86 metres to win Bronze at the High Jump T 42 event of the Rio Paralympics. Afflicted by polio at a young age, Bhati’s talent was spotted by St Joseph’s School, Greater Noida, of which he was a student. He was also coached by former national level athlete, Satyanarayana. The 21 year old has also won a Silver at the 2016 IPC Athletics World Championships in Germany and a Gold in Dubai.