India had a lone shining moment at the 2012 London Paralympics when Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda won a silver medal in the men’s high jump.
The country hadn’t won any medal at the 2008 edition in Beijing, so it felt special to millions of Indians.
But Nagarajegowda’s win also sparked discussions on whether a lone medal was enough for a country that has millions of people with disabilities.
It also raised questions around India’s attitudes to para sport and disability in general. But something seems to have clicked for the country since 2012.
India won four medals in Rio in 2016 and 20 at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
And it closed the Paris Paralympics with an impressive tally of 29 medals. There have been so many moments to savour for India in Paris – from Sheetal Devi, who competes without arms, winning a bronze with Rakesh Kumar in a mixed compound archery event to Navdeep Singh registering a record throw of 47.32m in javelin to win a gold in the F41 category (athletes with short stature compete in this class).
These achievements are special given the leap of growth Indian para athletes have shown in just over a decade.
India still has a long way to go to take on countries like China (220 medals), Great Britain (124) and the US (105) but supporters of para sports in the country say the tide may be turning.
So what changed in this relatively short period of time?
Plenty.
Several government agencies, coaches and corporate firms came together to invest in para athletics.
And as they helped more heroes emerge, more children and their parents felt confident to take up para sport as a profession.
Gaurav Khanna, the head coach of the Indian para badminton team, says having people to look up to has changed mindsets:
“This has increased the number of athletes who are participating and who are having confidence that they can do better. When I joined the para badminton team in 2015, there were only 50 athletes in the national camp. Now that figure has gone up to 1,000.”
This is a stark change from the time he began training para athletes. Earlier, Khanna used to spot young talent in strange places like shopping malls, corner shops and even on roads while driving in the country’s rural areas.
“It used to be tough to convince parents to send their children for something they knew little about. Just imagine convincing the parents of a young girl to send her to a faraway camp and trust somebody they didn’t know. But that’s how earlier champions came to the fore,” he adds.
Technology has also played a crucial part. With India’s growing economic prowess, Indian para athletes now have access to world-class equipment.
Khanna says each category in different disability sports requires specific equipment, which is often designed to meet the needs of an individual athlete.
“We didn’t have access to good equipment earlier and we used whatever we could get. But now it’s a different world for our athletes,” he says.
