BY DEEPA MALIK
My heart knows no bounds of joy as we return to India from the Paralympic Games 2020 in Tokyo with a stunning
haul of 19 medals, including five gold and eight silver. When we left India with the knowledge that we were fielding the biggest contingent of 54 athletes in nine disciplines, I knew we would also return with our best showing in a Paralympic Games.
Since India’s maiden appearance at the Paralympics in 1968, our athletes claimed a total of 12 medals till 2016. Now, we went way past that cumulative number with 19. And of the 162 nations competing in Tokyo2020, India finished 24th in the overall medal tally, ranking 20th on the basis of total medals won.
There were memorable performances, enhanced by the fact that they came along with records. Sumit Antil won his F64 Men’s Javelin Throw gold with a world record. Avani Lekhara equalled the World Record and set a Games Record in R2 Women’s 10m Air Standing SH1 while Manish Narwal rewrote the Games Record in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1. High jumpers Nishad Kumar (T47) and Praveen Kumar (T64) claimed silver medals but with Asian marks.
A few missed out on medals but delivered shows worthy of praise. Shooter Swaroop Unhalkar, athletes Sandeep Chaudhary, Soman Rana and Navdeep as well as badminton player Tarun Dhillon finished fourth and some like Sakina Khatun (Powerlifting), Ram Pal and Amit Saroha (Athletics) and Rahul Jakhar (Shooting) took the fifth place in their events.
When the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself leads the way, it was easy for the rest of the nation to rise as one. Not only did he motivate the athletes for nearly two hours before the contingent flew to Tokyo but also made it a point to speak with every athlete who landed a medal in Tokyo2020. Such encouragement and recognition from the top leadership in the country play a big role in any athlete’s journey.
I have been asked countless times on how India managed the turnaround. It would be right to say that the greater synergy among Government of India, Paralympic Committee of India, other National Sports Federations supporting Para Sport, and the Non-Government Organisations has been a huge factor in the incremental change this time.
In the Paralympic Committee of India itself, we have made a conscious effort to become more athlete-centric in our decision making. My experience as a Paralympic Games medallist in 2016 has helped me convince everyone around me that when the athlete is at the centre of our universe, everything else will fall in place.
In the wake of 2016, when India got four medals in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, people started looking at Para Sport with a different perspective. Significantly, the mindset change happened among athletes who started seeing the Paralympic Games as a platform to empower themselves by creating abilities beyond their disabilities.
The policies have become more inclusive and the incredible support of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports through the Sports Authority of India ensured that our athletes could focus on their preparation without having to worry about things like logistics. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Government left no stone unturned in helping the athletes shine. I can say with confidence that a new era of Paralympic Games has dawned in India; Tokyo 2020 is just the beginning!
Deepa Malik is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics. She won the silver medal in the shot put in 2016 Paralympic Games. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. Malik was previously honored with the Arjuna award in 2012, at the age of 42 years. She created a New Asian Record in Asian Para Games 2018 and is the only Indian woman to win medals in 3 consecutive Asian Para Games (2010, 2014, 2018).