Paris Paralympics: How did India's para athletes steal the thunder from Neeraj and his ilk?

Paris Olympics: Government investment in athletes: Rs 520 crore; Six medals.

Paralympics: Government investment: Rs 20 crore; 29 medals.

The telltale figures keep popping up on social media, highlighting the so-called contrast in return on investment. While the comparison is basically unfair, if not insensitive, one cannot help but wonder what has made India’s para athletes take the quantum leap since Rio 2016.

Paris has been, by far, India’s most successful sojourn at the Paralympics, with an all-time high contingent of 84 raking in 29 medals until Saturday — seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze — to take 16th position in the medals tally. Which means they have already crossed the prediction of 25 medals from the likes of former stalwarts Devendra Jhajharia, now president of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and Deepa Malik, the first woman para athlete of India to win a medal at Paralympics.

They have also surpassed the Tokyo Paralympics haul of 19 (including five gold), and could well be setting a benchmark in the region of 35-plus in four years’ time in Los Angeles. The likes of Sumit Antil, the first javelin thrower to win back-to-back golds, shooter Avani Lekhara, first woman athlete to land two golds, Mariyappan Thangavelu, first Indian to win medals at three consecutive Paralympics, or the endearing Sheetal Devi have all captured the public imagination like never before over the last 10 days.

Cut to barely eight years earlier in Rio de Janeiro, when India returned with four medals — two gold, a silver and a bronze. Back in 1972, Murlikant Petkar etched his name as the first Indian para athlete to win a Paralympics medal (silver) in 50m freestyle before the country gave the next two editions a miss and came back in the 1984 Los Angeles edition.

What exactly changed from a bureaucratic exercise of hastily putting together a contingent to India now becoming a big brother in the Paralympic movement? Comparisons to performances by the likes of Neeraj Chopra and his ilk are odious, but someone like Deepa Malik feels the refrain of the ‘competition level not being the same and smaller fields’ is often overused.

Enough competition

An iconic figure in the growth of Paralympics in the country, the former PCI supremo and mentor to most members of the current contingent in Paris felt the medal count was one prediction which she was happy had proved wrong. Speaking to National Herald over phone, the 2016 silver medallist shot putter said: "One of the biggest examples of the acceptance of Paralympics in the Olympics mainstream was seen this year in Paris where they were branded together and even shared the same mascot.

"Talk about the competition level, someone like Sheetal Devi scores a stunning round of 703 in archery out of a possible 720 — that too with her feet. The field of competition, based on classification of category, may often have smaller fields but it takes a lot to win a medal, not to speak of double podium finishes in a number of disciplines.

‘’We have come a long way in the movement and held our own among 194 countries. The movement has certainly become more inclusive but I am afraid there is still a lack of equity,’’ Deepa said. 

As the medals tally swelled each day, the Indian media also made enough noise about it but the feisty Deepa, a Rajiv Khel Ratna awardee, feels the disparity in treatment of 'able-bodied' athletes and her ilk is still quite stark. ‘’We had to send at least 50 emails to have an official broadcaster on board till Jio came to the rescue. This gave the fans a chance to watch the events live," she asked.

There has been no dearth of mutual admiration between the star Olympians and Paralympics achievers, with Antil often telling the media about how Neeraj Chopra’s advice helped him stay focused as he defended his gold medal. Calling Neeraj bhai an inspirational figure in fuelling his ambitions, double gold medallist Antil said: ‘’He told me not to try anything new and the ploy certainly worked.’’

Societal change

How does the mainstream Olympians’ fraternity view the Paralympics revolution of sorts? Joydeep Karmakar, a former national coach and shooter who finished an agonising fourth in the 50m rifle prone event in London 2012, feels the phenomenon signifies societal change in the country.

‘’The exponential rise in the number of medals signifies there is a huge spike in the number of para athletes in India. There is now a growing awareness that being physically challenged owing to whatever circumstances in life does not mean giving up on ambition, and that the Paralympics can prove to be a career option,’’ Karmakar said.

The Kolkata-based shooting ace, who runs four academies in the city, revealed that there had been a perceptible increase in inquiries from guardians and differently abled youngsters themselves to enroll as trainee shooters under his supervision. ‘’It’s such a welcome trend, but academies have to be customised for them, as well as training,’’ he said.

Chandan Roy Chowdhury, president of the Bengal Paralympics Association and vice-president of the state Olympics body, has witnessed the growing awareness about the Paralympic movement at the grassroots level. ‘’The buzz that you see today was nowhere in sight before Rio. More and more youngsters are taking up disciplines of their choice and I can see the numbers improving at state-level meets as well. It’s a major improvement from earlier years, where the number of competitors would be really thin at such meets,’’ said Roy Chowdhury, who was instrumental in hosting the inaugural Eastern India Para Games last year.

The mood, hence, is certainly upbeat about Paralympics, and the sky can be the limit for the Indian contingent in four years’ time in Los Angeles 2028.

However, insiders of the para athletes’ community feel there is still scope for the movement to be more streamlined in future as there are often some grey areas about ‘classification’ — the most vital component which determines which determines the category that in which a para athlete is eligible to participate. A watertight classification ensures that there is a level playing field and no one derives any ‘unfair’ advantage.

"The introduction of sports science, the increase in budget, and a more proactive role by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) as well as the role of the sports media have helped Paralympics take giant steps since Rio 2016. However, there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of administration. Only four disciplines: shooting, athletics, swimming and powerlifting, have dedicated bodies for para administration while the rest are managed by federations of able-bodied sports. This has to change,’’ Deepa added.

For now, though, it’s time to celebrate!