The Paralympics ended on a tragic note with the death of an Iranian cyclist as he was tackling a mountainous descent in the road race that could have tested the nerves of even the fittest competitor. Amid the closing ceremony tribute to cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, the disabled’s everyday bravery was highlighted, with a reminder of the risks in the pursuit of excellence. The world may have focused less on the Paralympics than the Olympic Games just a month ago, but Brazilians, impressed by the paralympians’ attitude to life and ability to overcome adversity, made the games most memorable by turning out in even greater numbers. When unilateral amputees complain of advantages double amputees have in attaching blades on both feet, the message is how competitive the world of para-athletes is getting.
India too had its moments of glory with brave para-athletes winning more medals and honour than their pampered fellow Olympians. Not only did Devendra Jhajharia do the nation proud by winning a second javelin gold after a 12-year gap, in an extraordinary feat of durability in sport, India also had its first-ever woman medallist in Deepa Malik, who won silver in the shotput F53 to become the oldest Paralympics medal winner. And Mariyappan Thangavelu jumped higher than ever for gold. With two golds, a silver and a bronze, India’s para-athletes showed what they are capable of while proving what talented Indians can achieve despite the system. The ban by the international committee on a bickering federation, so representative of the nepotism, infighting and corruption that blight all Indian sport, was lifted in time so as not to deny athletes who had worked so hard for years to qualify.
It is a moot point whether the lessons of the generally-inept national performance in winning the least number of medals per capita at the Olympics will lead to a greater sense of purpose and organisation to Indian sport afflicted with organisational squabbles of the associations, inadequate funding from the government — India spends three paise per capita a day on sport, which pales when compared with the United States, that spends Rs 22, the UK 50 paise and even Jamaica spends 19 paise — and virtually nonexistent infrastructure, with even once international class facilities run down due to lack of maintenance. Sports ministers, who seem to know little of a specialised subject, keep harping on forging a national sports policy. A massive national effort is needed if India is to win medals in international competitions. The world is fast changing as seen in four para-athletes bettering the time of their abler counterparts in the 1500m on the same track in Rio. Will Indian sport ever change? That, really, is the trillion-dollar question.
