"India yahan itihaas banane jaa rha hain (India is going to make history here)." That's what Devendra Jhajharia, the first Indian para-athlete ever to win two Paralympics gold medals, and now the President of the Paralympic Committee of India, told ESPN on August 27 - a day before the Paris Paralympics began.
EVERY MEDAL WON BY INDIA AT THE PARALYMPICS | PARIS PARALYMPICS MEDAL TALLY
Jhajharia's claims (in public) that "India would win at least 25 medals" raised eyebrows, India won 19 medals in Tokyo, but wasn't 25 too steep a figure? Ten days later, India closed out their Paralympics campaign with a record 29 medals. That's one medal less than the 30 medals India have won across all Games since their debut at the Paralympics in 1968. Jhajharia now stands validated, India had gone four medals past his optimistic prediction.
To truly understand the magnitude of this success, you have to compare it to Jhajharia's Paralympic debut two decades ago. Back in 2004, he funded himself and when he came back a gold medallist from the Athens Paralympics, "no one even garlanded me". Cut to today, India's para-athletes came back to dhols and garlands and formal receptions from the powers that be, much like the Olympians.
"Din raat ka difference hai (there's a massive difference)," Jhajharia says while talking about para-sports in India today.
But what exactly happened in these intervening years?
The Rio revolution
A major catalyst for change was the 2016 Rio Paralympics. The four medals in Rio were India's best tally in 32 years and para-athletes won two more medals than their able-bodied compatriots did at the 2016 Olympics. Largely ignored till then, the performance in Rio made the nation wake up and take notice of para-sports.
Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Deepa Malik and Varun Bhati became household names, were featured on primetime television slots and their stories inspired many. Their success attracted big cheques as Jhajharia was awarded upwards of ₹1 crore and land from the central and state governments. Malik received ₹4 crore from the Haryana government. Their examples served as inspiration -- those who thought there was no future in para sports now saw a purpose, that they too had a shot at recognition, cash awards and a chance at a better life. Like Nithya Sre Sivan, who watched the 2016 Paralympics on TV as an 11-year-old and realized she could have a future in para-badminton. Cut to 2024, she's won bronze at the Paralympics (women's singles SH6).
The impact of TOPS and Khelo India
Fifty-two of India's 84 para-athletes - 62% - in Paris were sponsored by TOPS, and that's proved key to their success. The likes of Sumit Antil (javelin F64 gold in Tokyo and Paris) and Sharad Kumar (high jump T63 bronze in Tokyo and silver in Paris) were included in India's elite sporting program, the Target Podium Olympic Scheme (TOPS), in 2019.
With TOPS came unprecedented support: core group athletes got help to train abroad, procure equipment, compete in international events and were eligible for a monthly stipend of ₹50,000.
The impact can be seen with everyone in the scheme. Take Nishad Kumar -- the high jumper lost his right hand when he was seven and a half years old while working on the farm, and it was a struggle financially when growing up. He recalls that there was a time when his family didn't have money to buy essentials like salt, but all of that changed after he was inducted into TOPS.
But it's not just one scheme. Para-shooter Mona Agarwal, who won bronze in Paris, benefitted from the monthly ₹10,000 stipend she gets from the Khelo India scheme that came about in 2023 after the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Para Games.
The results of this support were almost immediate: India had a record-breaking 19 medallists at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics and two years later a staggering 111 medals at the 2023 Para Asian Games. This was, of course, in addition to Indian para-athletes winning medals in the World Championships of their respective sports: Sumit's golds in 2023 and 2024, Deepthi Jeevanji's gold in 2024, Sheetal Devi's silver in 2023.
The Army Paralympic Node
In 2017, the establishment of the Army Paralympic Node (APN) helped tap into a big resource. Lieutenant Colonel Gaurav Dutta, India's first para-athlete to run a triathlon, was the Officer-In-Charge of the project and was eager to create an ecosystem for army men who suffered accidents in the line of duty.
"The Army Paralympic Node was established to give the war-disabled soldiers the satisfaction that they can still contribute meaningfully to the nation and the army. It gave them a new purpose in life. Sports also play a very important role in holistic rehabilitation of a person, especially when the disability is an acquired one," says Dutta, currently the joint secretary of the Karnataka Rowing Federation.
From one army representative at the 2016 and 2021 Paralympics in para-athletics, India had four army men competing in Paris across three para sports: athletics, rowing and shooting. Amongst them was bronze medallist Hokato Hotozhe Sema. He lost his leg during a landmine blast in 2002 and it was a chance meeting with Dutta around 2016 that inspired him to take up shot put. The APN came up a year later and served as a perfect training platform for him.
"This completely changed the perspective of people around them, to include their families, fellow soldiers and society," Dutta says on the impact of the APN.
Private bodies join the revolution
Support from private bodies such as the GoSports Foundation have also contributed to the growth of para-sports. GoSports were among the frontrunners in this cause, launching the Para Champions Programme back in 2015.
Sumit, the only Indian track and field athlete to defend his gold across the Paralympics and Olympics, credits his success to them. "GoSports were there for me when I had no one. In 2019 when I got support for the first time, it was from GoSports. If they hadn't supported me then, maybe my journey here might not have been possible." In fact, GoSports had helped Sumit get his first prosthetic leg.
GoSports supported 16 para-athletes at the Paris Olympics, while Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) supported the likes of Avani Lekhara (first Indian woman to win and defend her Paralympic gold), Nishad Kumar (two-time Paralympic silver medallist) and Ajeet Singh (silver in Paris). OGQ began backing para-athletes in October 2019 and have supported para-athletes in multiple ways: they've supported Avani Lekhara with her personalised wheelchair and rifle, helped Ajeet with a prosthetic limb and a javelin and fully oversaw Simran Sharma's journey from an injury in 2023 to a bronze at the Paris Paralympics.
Among OGQ's biggest success stories is Sheetal Devi, the world's first armless archer. They scouted her in 2022 and have assisted her with equipment, coaching, sports science and travel costs for tournaments. Since then, Sheetal won gold at the Asian Para Games, became the world #1 in the women's compound and won a bronze in the mixed event at the Paralympics.
What does the way forward look like?
There's a lot of good work being done: the government has given para-athletes equal cash awards as their able-bodies counterparts (₹75 lakh for gold medallists, ₹50 lakh for the silver medallists, ₹30 lakh for bronze winners and ₹22.5 lakh for mixed team medallists) and spent an estimate of ₹74 crore between the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics, which was over twice of the spendings for the Tokyo Games.
But India's para-athletes need to be backed all throughout, not only when they win. After his bronze medal triumph, Hokato Sema would dedicate his medal to his wife, saying she "often starved so that I could eat and continue training because we didn't have enough money to ensure two square meals a day. She has picked me up every time I felt like giving up." The Nagaland government immediately announced a ₹1.5 crore cash reward for him and said it would recommend his name for the Arjuna Award and promotion in the Indian Army, but if this support had maybe come in earlier, he may not have had to endure those difficult times.
Sponsorships aside, a lot more needs to be done to improve the state of affairs. For starters, make para-sports more popular and stadiums accessible for athletes. "I aim to have accessible sporting stadiums in 600 districts across the length and breadth of the country to tap into the grassroots. I have approached numerous state governments to ensure their stadiums have ramps, are accessible via wheelchair and have accessible toilets. These are the basics to improve para-sports," says Jhajharia.
Another requirement is a dedicated centre of excellence that will solely cater to para-athletes. "The main ask now is to have a National Paralympic Training Centre in a location where the weather is suitable for training all year. Along with that, a Talent Identification and Development Plan would help us unearth new talent," says Dutta. The Sports Authority of India has already announced committees for five para-sports, but these committees "need to be functional and budgeted, not merely on paper," he adds.
A major task for Jhajharia will be to get the PCI administration in order. Who can forget how the erstwhile administration changed the venue of the 2021 National Para Athletics Championship days mere days before the event, how the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru was not wheelchair friendly and the shot put event was held amidst torches and car headlights...all this at an event that was a qualifier for the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. While Jhajharia will need to fix that, the PCI is also looking to host a major international event next year to further spread awareness. ESPN understands that India is keen to host the World Para Athletics Championships in the second half of 2025.
Irrespective of the social media appreciation from @BAI_Media (which is very rare),we the athletes are highly dissatisfied with the response & the interest from BAI regarding Para badminton responsibilities, we sincerely request BAI & @Media_SAI to handover para badminton to PCI https://t.co/IeiGcagD8Q
- Nitesh kumar (@niteshnk11) September 10, 2024
As gold medalist Nitesh Kumar tweeted, there are big issues that currently fall outside the PCI's ambit as well: "Irrespective of the social media appreciation from [Badminton Association of India] (which is very rare),we the athletes are highly dissatisfied with the response & the interest from BAI regarding Para badminton responsibilities, we sincerely request BAI & [Sports Authority of India] to handover para badminton to PCI."
India's para-athletes have shown that the sky is truly the limit. With proper support and backing, from the government and corporates alike, India could very well become one of the most dominant forces in global para-sports.