In a remarkable departure from the past, the Ministry of
Youth Affairs & Sports has selected 18 para-athletes for this year’s
coveted National Sports Awards including Nagaland’s very own H. Hokato Sema,
which will be presented to them by President Droupadi Murmu on January 17 next.
It is amazing to note that for the first time the para-Olympians have
outnumbered the able-bodied athletes with their excellent performances in the
2024 Paralympics. By honouring them, the ministry has clearly sent a signal to
the society that like other normal athletes, the specially-abled athletes too
can bring laurels to the country from the international area, provided all
necessary facilities are made available to them. Significantly these awards
carry a subtle message that specially-abled persons are no burden to the
society, rather they can contribute equally, if not more like any other normal
human beings. Definitely, these awards will inspire the persons with
disabilities to take up sports seriously, so that one day they can also include
their names in the list of achievers. At the same time, treating para-athletes
at par with able-bodied sportspersons is a bold step towards making India a
sporting nation in future.
From the beginning of the 21st century, Indians have been
performing well in international sporting events. Abhinav Bindra has won the
first individual Gold in Beijing Olympics, 2008. Since then, India has not
returned empty handed from this greatest sporting extravaganza. The icing of
the cake was the victory of Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin throw in 2020
Tokyo Olympics, which was the first medal in the track & field events for
India in the Olympics. Apart from the success in the Olympics, India has also
won the Thomas Cup, the so-called world cup of Badminton in 2022, ending the
dominance of Indonesia and China. Only last year, both Indian men and women
teams have won the Chess Olympiad, which was suitably followed by the triumph
of D. Gukesh at the classical World Chess Championship and the success of
Koneru Humpy, who recently won FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship for the
second time. There are many other sports persons too, who have made the country
proud with their excellent performances at the world stage, signalling the
arrival of India in the world sporting arena in a big way.
Similarly, India has continued to perform creditably well in
the Paralympics also. In the last Paralympics Games held in Paris, the
country’s para-athletes have bagged a total of 29 medals including seven Gold,
nine Silver and 13 Bronze. This has been India’s best-ever performance in the
Paralympics so far, surpassing the Tokyo Paralympics tally of 19 medals which
included five Gold, eight Silver and six Bronze. The success seemed to be
significant considering the fact that the country had returned empty-handed
from the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 and since then in the last three
Paralympics India has won altogether 52 medals. Hopefully, India will perform
much better in the forthcoming Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028, with the
society standing firmly supporting beside them in their quest for glory.
