From Special Correspondent
New Delhi, March 3: Sachin Chamaria, a noted para-athlete from Meghalaya, has won a gold medal (individual) and a silver medal (pair) at the 10th Senior National Boccia Championship 2025–26, which concluded on Tuesday.
Since beginning his journey in 2021, he has achieved an extraordinary feat — winning six consecutive gold medals at the National Boccia Championship. He has also clinched a gold medal at the Federation Cup in Goa. Having carried the tricolour on the international stage, the young athlete now moves forward with steady resolve towards his dream of competing at the Paralympics.
Sachin’s rise to World No. 19 — the highest ranking for an Indian in his category — has qualified him for the World Championship to be held in South Korea in August this year. He is the first Indian BC3 athlete to achieve this milestone.
Boccia is a precision ball sport played at local, national and international levels by athletes with severe physical disabilities. A Paralympic sport since 1984, Boccia has witnessed significant global growth, with 75 national organisations affiliated with international Boccia bodies as of 2020.
The objective of the game is to throw leather balls — coloured red or blue (assigned by a coin toss) — as close as possible to a white target ball, known as the jack. Players may propel the balls using their hands, feet or, in cases of severe disability, assistive devices such as ramps.
Wheelchair-bound Sachin sustained a severe spinal cord injury at an early age but has defied the odds to achieve remarkable success at the international level in Boccia. (eom)
