SPORTS : KEY TO A NEW LIFE.

"....and then sports happened. It was a new life." 

There are ample of stories in different corners of the world shouting out loud to us " miracles happens". SPORTS is one such power that has changed millions of lives. 

As a part of our SPORTS DRIVE, YUVAAN proudly shares the inspiring stories of our differently abled Indian athletes who have made our country proud time and again.

1. SUYASH JADHAV ( Para- Swimmer)

Suyash Jadhav is an Indian Para swimmer who competes in the S7 Category. He is the only Indian Para swimmer to have achieved the ‘A’ qualifying mark for the 2016 Paralympics. born in 1993 in Solapur, Maharashtra. He started swimming at a very young age, following in his father’s footstep who was a national level swimmer himself. He aspired to fulfill his father’s destiny one day by competing and winning medals at the international stage.However, tragedy struck in Class 6, when a routine day of fun and games ended with Suyash suffering serious injuries to his upper limbs after getting accidentally electrocuted by unprotected wiring at a construction site. Both his arms had to be amputated and he subsequently spent six months in hospital following the incident.

2. DEEPA MALIK ( Shot put)

Deepa Malik is the first Indian woman to win a Medal at the Paralympics. She won silver medal in the shot put at 2016 Paralympic Games.She was previously honored with the Arjuna award in 2012, at the age of 42 years. She has also been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2017. She has won 58 national & 18 International medals across all disciplines till date. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India(F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18000 feet. It was – Raid De Himalaya.

3. DEVENDRA JHAJHARIA (Javelin Throw)

A former Indian Railways employee, Jhajharia is currently employed with the Sports Authority of India. Devendra Jhajharia was born in 1980 and hails from the Churu District in Rajasthan. At the age of eight, climbing a tree he touched a live electric cable. He received medical attention but the doctors were forced to amputate his left hand. In 1997 he was spotted by Dronacharya Awardee coach R. D. Singh while competing at a school sports day, and from that point was coached by Singh. In 2016, he won a gold medal at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship in Dubai. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F46 event, bettering his own 2004 record with a world-record throw of 63.97 metres.

                         

4. MARIYAPPAN THANGAVELU (High Jump)

Mariyappan Thangavelu (born 28 June 1995) is an Indian Paralympic high jumper.Mariyappan was born in Periavadagampatti village, Salem district, Tamil Nadu, one of six children (four brothers and a sister). His father reportedly abandoned the family early on, and his mother, Saroja, raised her children as a single mother, carrying bricks as a labourer until becoming a vegetable seller, earning ₹100 a day. At the age of five, Mariyappan suffered permanent disability in his right leg when he was run over by a drunk bus driver while walking to school; the bus crushed his leg below the knee, causing it to become stunted . In March 2016, Mariyappan cleared a distance of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) in the men's high jump T–42 event at the IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia, qualifying him for the Rio Paralympics. At the Rio Paralympics, he won the gold medal in the men's high jump T–42 event, with a leap of 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in). On 25 January 2017, Government of India announced "Padma Shri" award for his contribution towards sports.

5. FARMAN BASHA (Powerlifter) 

Farman Basha (born 25 March 1974) is an Indian powerlifter. Basha represented India at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom. He won a bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China. Unaware of Paralympic sports, Basha used to compete in bodybuilding contentions. He started powerlifting after his neighbour introduced him to sport for persons with physical disabilities. The first event he participated in was the 1997 National Wheelchair Games, where he won a silver medal. This achievement encouraged him to pursue the sport with even greater vigour.He is sponsored by a company with ₹5,000–5,500 per month and his wife, Antonita, contributes for rest of the expenditures.

6. ANKUR DHAMA (Visually impaired athlete)

A student of Delhi’s St Stephen’s college, Dhama competes in Track 11 category for completely blind. Ankur Dhama was born in Baghpat, a small village in Uttar Pradesh, to a family of farmers. He started losing his vision gradually when he was 5 years old and by the time he turned 6, Dhama’s eyesight had completely failed. With the encouragement of his sister, a physical education teacher, Dhama took to outdoor sports like a duck to water. 

                                

PARA-ATHLETICS IN INDIA : A LONG WAY TO GO

Sports has given a new life to all those people who lost their battles long time back. However, despite consistent good performances, para athletes in India have no financial backing whatsoever. Very rarely do public or private organisations provides them with jobs as compared to able bodied athletes. There is still no official camp for the para-athletes. A 30-day camp is held prior to every international tournament where completely blind runners have close to 20 days to get used to shoddy equipment before competing against the best in the world. On the other hand, able bodied athletes have a camp that lasts for 300 days of the year.

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Wish you all Happy health.

YUVAAN