For Bangalore-based Sharath Gayakwad (22), who was recently crowned National paralympics swimming champion for the ninth time since 2003, no challenge is insurmo-untable. Currently ranked world #9 after clocking his personal best in four events at the X Paralympic Games staged in London last September, Sharath didn’t make the podium but derived consol-ation from being the only Indian swimmer to qualify for the finals, and having given swimmers from France, China, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ukraine a close run. Introduced in 1976, the Paralympic Games is an international multi-sports event modelled on the Olympics involving athletes with physical and mental disabilities, and shares the same venue.
Born with a deformed left arm, Sharath acknowledges the encouragement he received from Gayathri Devi, principal of Little Flower Public School, Bang-alore, as a formative influence. “If it were not for her insistence that all students learn to swim, I would never have overcome aquaphobia,” he remembers. Since then Sharath has won 44 national and 30 international medals.
Fully supported by his father Mahadevarao Gayakwad, a supervisor at Bharat Earth Movers Ltd, and his homemaker mother Bhagya, Sharath has trained rigorously for ten years under coach John Christopher at the garden city’s P.M. Swimming Centre. In 2003, he clinched his first national Paralympic title at age 12. “2010 was a big year for me as I won a bronze in the 100m brea-ststroke event at the Asian Paralympic Games staged in Guangzhou, China; was ranked #10 at the World Championships in Netherlands, and #5 at the Delhi Commonwealth Games,” he recalls.
Sharath believes his success would never have been possible without a supportive community. “I owe my limited success entirely to my coach and my sponsors Speedo — the world’s leading swimming brand — HealthAdd Consul-tancy, and GoSports Foundation, who apart from providing financial help also manages my sports gear, training and registrations. I would also like to thank the Central government which has sponsored all my travel since 2008,” says Sharath, who recently graduated from the city’s Jain College.
But the medals and encomiums haven’t come easy. Sharath’s daily training regimen comprises 5-6 hours in the pool apart from fitness sessions in the gym and on the athletics track. “I intend to practice harder and acquire competitive experience to win a medal for India in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” he says. Totally hooked on aquatics, Sharath wants to make a career in competitive swimming. “I’m waiting for the government’s plan on hiring sportspeople with disabilities as coaches. This announcement was made a year ago,” he says.
Speed to your fins!
Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)
Maya Devipujak
Maya Devipujak (18), a dyslexic girl from a BPL (below poverty line) family, has become a celebrity in Mehsana (pop. 184,133), Gujarat. She was a member of the Indian floor hockey (a seven-a-side hockey played on basketball courts with a puck instead of ball) team which bagged the gold medal in the 10th Special Olympics World Winter Games staged in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between January 29-February 5. In recognition of her achievement notwithstanding adverse circumstances, the Gujarat government recently awarded her a purse of Rs.2 lakh and the Mata Yashoda Award with a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh. Moreover, even the socially disadvan-taged Devipujak community chipped in with an award of Rs.15,000.
Maya’s achievement is especially inspiring because she had to simult-aneously meet the twin challenges of acute poverty and disability. Her family of five reside in a one-room home and survives on an income of Rs.100 per day earned by her mother Kamuben, a groceries vendor and sole bread winner of the household. Nevertheless, she staunchly supports her daughter’s efforts to develop her playing skills. “I am very grateful to the Khodiyar Education Trust (KET) and the school management, and particularly her coach Varsha Bhatt for developing her game and nurturing my daughter,” says an elated Kamuben.
However, with the India team striking gold at the Pyeongchang Special Olympics and the glowing encomiums Maya has received in Gujarat as a star player of the winning team, the family’s fortunes are set to change dramatically. “With the prize money I hope to purchase a home with electricity and a colour television set for my family. The district administration has promised to help with the allotment of a site on which we will construct our new home. This is a dream of my mother I am determined to fulfill,” says Maya.
Vishnu Chaudhary, project co-ordi-nator of KET which runs a special school for disabled children where Maya was admitted into class VIII in 2008, is all praise for her dedication to the game. “She developed advanced skills and represented Gujarat in national tournaments staged in Shimla, Delhi and Chandigarh before she was selected to play for India in October 2010,” says Chaudhary.
But this plucky girl’s immediate priority is to pass her secondary school board exam. “I want to become a teacher and a floor and field hockey coach for challenged children following in the footsteps of Varshaben,” she says.
Power to you!
R.K. Misra (Gandhinagar)