Tag: Disability And Sports

The Reigning Para Badminton World Champion

‘I Don’t want Segregation; I Want Access & Acceptance’

By LokMarg

Manasi Joshi, the reigning Para Badminton World Champion who has a Barbie doll modelled after her, narrates her journey and the challenges ahead

I was 22-year-old when I met with a horrific road accident. I was fresh out of college and working as a software engineer. Like any callow youth, I wanted to work hard, earn a decent living in Mumbai, go for higher studies and settle down. The accident changed it all.

While recovering in hospital, I accepted the new reality. Thanks to the support from my family and friend, I didn’t get into a self-sympathy phase. I understood that it was a struggle but people fight and I will move on with it too.

Playing badminton also helped. I had played the racket game since my school days to the corporate world. I was undergoing the rehab then and playing the sport helped me balance better, move swifter. It also took my mind off a few issues which I had started worrying about.

My first faceoff with reality came post-recovery. As I resumed office, I noticed that people’s perception had changed; I was viewed as a lesser person because I lost a leg. I understood that this is how I would be treated in future, and this needed to be changed.

My hours on the badminton court extended. One thing led to another and I started participating in corporate level tournaments, followed by state level championships. I also started posting my pictures on social media and made new friends. Some of these friends encouraged me to move up in competitions. Eventually I played my first Nationals that was held in Mumbai and won a silver medal. In 2019, when the last Para Badminton World Championship was held in Switzerland, I bagged the Gold.

It is not easy to be a para athlete, reach to your highest level and still keep on fighting for your rights. The victory gives only a onetime push: we are written about; rule the social media for a few days; and eventually it dies down. The able-bodied athletes are recognized through the year, have sponsors and ministry supporting them. Para athletes aren’t so lucky. At times most struggle with finances for basic training.

ALSO READ: ‘Quit Self-Pity, Swim Against The Tide’

I have always been an opinionated person but today I have the privilege of voicing my opinion. If I have a disability, I do not need segregation; I want inclusion, access and acceptance. I demand change in social attitude, affordable high-end equipment and aids, equal opportunity in education, employment and healthcare. They say these are apples for you. But other people are getting mangoes, and I too want mangoes.

I don’t want to say ‘I wish I had accessibility’; I demand that accessibility. If I cannot go to a particular venue it means I am not allowed to access it. And that is not my failure, it is the failure of the so-called ‘abled’ who could not get that arranged.

I want to live in a world where people with disability are not living on social security but as taxpayers to the state. Of course, we don’t have social security anyways. People with disability are an invisible minority which is never spoken about because they are not considered a vote bank.

Not all is lost, though. Last year a Barbie doll was modelled after me. When I received the one-of-a-kind doll mode, I was filled with gratitude for the manufacturer. I realized it is not a conversation starter but a conversation supporter. It gives young girls hope to be limitless, to chase their dreams. This is how we start inclusion… by encouraging young children to believe in it.

As an athlete I want to reach to a level where no one faces any kind of discrimination in sports. Currently it so happens. My journey in the field of para sports has just begun. I want to grow and become better. I want to be a contributor to the disability rights movement in India in whichever way I can.

As Told To Mamta Sharma

International Gold Medalist Para Swimmer

‘Quit Self Pity, Learn To Swim Against The Tide’

By LokMarg

His medical document describes him as ‘100% Disabled’, but Shams Aalam (34) has others certificates that title him with international gold medalist para swimmer, world record holder in open sea swimming and TEDx Speaker. His story:

I am delighted to have won two Gold and one Silver medals with a new National record at 20th National Para Swimming Championship held in Bangalore recently. From an international level Karate player in 2010 to a record holder paraplegic swimmer, I have come a long way.

In 2010, I was about to represent my country in Asian Games. But as fate would have it I was diagnosed with a benign tumour. The surgical treatment left my lower body paralytic. I lost all sensation below my chest. I needed two persons to carry me from one place to another. It was sheer trauma; I felt like a helpless infant. But my mother, my sister and their children took care of me through that time.

My doctor assured me that I would be able play sports again and I followed his advice but realized that the recovery was slow. I was worried about my future. I searched and read every article on the internet about paraplegia, its recovery, treatment, alternative medicine.

From a Karate Kid in 2010 to Gold Fish in 2018

It then began to dawn upon me that this was a permanent situation and is not going to change. Once I got my disability certificate in 2012 which said that I am 100 percent disabled, I decided that I need to stop crying and find alternative ways to move ahead in my life. My mother was the main motivating force. She would tell me “If Allah has closed one door for you, it will open 1000 other doors. Keep going.”

My doctor had advised me to take up swimming to regenerate my nerves and I had taken it with utmost seriousness. In 2012 I started participating in national events as a paraplegic swimmer. As my mother had said, a new door opened for me.

In 2016, I won a bronze medal at the 2016 Can-Am Para Swimming Championships in Gatineau, Quebec. In 2017 I covered eight km in open sea in four hours, which is a world record. In 2018, I was selected to represent India in Asian Para Games at 100 meter Butterfly and Freestyle, besides other categories.

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My disability changed my vision. I feel there is much to do for the betterment and empowerment of the disabled community in the country, and I have a role in it. I associated myself with many initiatives in this direction. I started Para Sports Association in Mumbai, a body that provides a sports platform to people with disability. I have been working with various universities on accessibility issues and have delivered TEDx talks, most by a disabled person, on various issues.

Since 2019, I have been working with Bal Swavlamban Trust, a corporate social responsibility initiative of Gurgaon-based Hella India Automotive. We aim to produce affordable, accessible customized mobility equipment for the disabled. I use a German wheelchair which is good but also very costly. At Hella, we are trying to reduce the cost of mobility equipment from the current ₹1.5-2 lakh to ₹30,000.

Aalam now guides people with spine injury as a peer mentor

I am also working on the sexuality and disability. These are topics which are never raised because of which women and children often get abused, end up being victims of domestic violence and worse. We are also trying to generate proper data on the spinal injuries, other disabilities.

As a peer mentor I guide people with spinal cord injury on how to live their life post-trauma.  My mantra is: accept the way in whatever way you are. Respect yourself, stop self-pitying and start moving. If you want to achieve something, you will find the way to achieve it – either on your feet or a wheelchair.

As Told To Mamta Sharma