Apart from our much feted cricketers (the men that is), few sports in India garner much attention. Sportspeople who are not cricketers typically have to struggle to train, obtain finances and get resource allocation sanctioned from the authorities. When it comes to para-athletes, competitive athletes who have disabilities – the struggle becomes even more pronounced. The story of para-athlete Kanchanmala Pande is along these lines; a story of success despite hardship.
She has been swimming competitively since she was very young. She has competed not only with other handicapped people but also with sighted swimmers at all levels. She has won in international medals at the Commonwealth Games, (2006 at Australia) FESPIC Games (2006 at Malaysia) the Para-Asian games (2010 at China) and many others.
She has been swimming since she was ten. She always felt more comfortable and relaxed in the water than on the ground. She feels being blind in the water is similar to sighted people who cannot open their eyes underwater. She says it is peaceful in the water where she can get directions by following sounds.
Most recently, Kanchanmala Pande participated in the championship for para-athletes in Berlin. According to reports, the funds sanctioned for her trip by the government failed to reach her in time because of a lapse on part of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).
One could argue that athletes were told beforehand that they would have to bear their own expense and that these could be reimbursed later by the authorities; so they should have made their arrangements in advance. However, the fact remains that circumstances were such that Kanchanmala had to take a loan of Rs 5 lakh to participate in the tournament. According to her, “I was not given any official confirmation if I will receive a reimbursement for the expense I bore. I had to pay around Rs 70,000 (£844) for the hotel and more than Rs 40,000 (£482) for food.”
In spite of the hardships that she faced, she won a silver medal in her event and thereby qualified for the World Para-Swimming Championship. She is also the only female swimmer from India to qualify for the championship.
Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra called this unacceptable and called for people to be held accountable. Shuttler Somdev Devvarman also felt that the current system is a shame and that the way we perceive sport itself needs to change. Tennis ace Manesh Bhupati said what is true for most sport in India: that athletes win against all odds. "Against all Odds" has been every sportspersons story in India at some level but this is an all time low .. #shameful #disgrace …” he tweeted.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
