The numerous problems faced by India's Paralympic athletes

World class athletes need their supporting staff with them at competitions if they are to perform to their potential. When it come to the Paralympics, the support staff is of paramount importance. When you need assistance to move around, and you are deprived of that basic amenity, it’s going to make anyone bitter.

There are five escorts and six coaches sent for the Paralympics, according to the list sent to the Sports Ministry by PCI (Paralympic Committee of India). And as it turns out there are a lot of other officials and assorted family members accompanying the contingent who haven’t been named in that list.

In the midst of all this, our athletes are the ones who have to suffer. Once again the red tape has come in play. Pass the buck, a game of musical chairs. Whenever anything of this sort occurs, the first question is, who is to blame? Whom do we point the finger at? This is where the media turns into a vulture. Ah! A scandal!

Can you imagine the delight a reporter feels when he comes across a story with these elements? It’s sad but true that a story involving physically challenged athletes with either something as positive as sports or something as negative as them not getting what’s due to them.

Sports- check. Ok, there could be a story here.Physically challenged athletes – check. Ahh, that’s going to catch eyeballs.Physically challenged athletes not getting someone to push their wheelchair – Christmas come early.

It’s easy to put together a rant about the situation, lambasting the bureaucracy and lamenting the situation being faced by the athletes. I’m trying to be as objective as possible here and avoid making a malarkey out of it. So I’ve listed four points of views. The facts, players’ side of the story, PCI’s side of the story and a neutral side. Following which I’m trying to make sense of it all.

Here are the facts:

Facts:

In the team list sent to the sports ministry, PCI has mentioned 10 athletes, five escorts and six coaches. None of the other officials who have travelled has been mentioned in the list. Out of the five escorts, only two have been provided with the daily entry passes.

Satyanarayan, the athletics coach, has not trained any of the athletes competing in London. He was included in the PCI as joint secretary few months ago in a controversial election which was boycotted by several members.

Extras include: PCI president Sultan Ahmed, also the union of state for tourism’s wife.Treasurer Gurcharan Singh’s wife and daughter.PCI general secretary Ratan Singh has taken his son Amar Singh as an official.

Player’s side:

Farman Basha, a wheelchair powerlifter, says he doesn’t have an escort at this premier event. “They (officials) didn’t even allow my coach inside the Village. Instead, all biggies, along with their family members, are on a trip here.” Farman was a bronze medallist at the Guangzhou Asian Games last year, finished fifth at this Paralympics. “My best effort is 168 kg, but I could clear only 150 kg. How can we perform or win a medal if our basic needs are not taken care of? It’s extremely saddening,” he said.

Sharath M Gayakwad, a para swimmer who finished ninth in the 100m butterfly event was not allowed to tag his coach John Christopher along.

PCI’s side:

Ratan Singh, PCI General Secretary: “No one has the right to ask me why my son is travelling with me. Some of them have come on their own expense. Our president is travelling with his wife and our treasurer is travelling with his wife and daughter. Can I ask them why they have brought them along?”

Third party’s side

Ashwini Nachappa, former international athlete and founder member of Clean Sports India, has said: “These guys are running a family business. I am not surprised with whatever is happening with the para athletes in London. This has been going on for years. These are athletes who need special attention. Unless you provide them that extra support, how can they perform? I insist that the state and the central governments look into the matter.”

Where does one go from this? What can you say to the athlete who is in this situation where he is missing the coach of his preference and the support needed from an escort? Maybe the PCI is on the right side of the fence here. Maybe they are doing all that they can and who accompanies them is their business as long as the family members cover their own expenses, which they are purported to be doing. Maybe the athletes ought to…ought to what? The bare simple fact is that a world class Paralympic athlete is being denied the basic support needed to be mobile. A man in a wheelchair needs some assistance. Not pity, not anyone going out of their way to help him, just basic assistance. How can we be justified in allowing our athletes to be subject to this?

My question to PCI is this, even if you are following all procedures and giving ample care to the athletes within the means provided by the government to you, if even in spite of all this the athletes are in a situation where they are missing basic amnesties, then their whole purpose of going to compete is defeated.

PCI and their family members being there, it’s their business. Maybe the following request to PCI is out of line, but instead of covering the expenses of their affiliates why not choose to bring in those whom the athletes require? Even if it is out of your own pocket? The whole point of going all the way to London is to try and win. Choosing to leave behind those who are close to you and spending out of your own means to help better the chances of the athletes, athletes who are your own responsibility, that is the right thing to do.

There’s no point in the PCI, the athletes, the family of PCI going there if the athletes are unable to compete to their fullest. Why couldn’t PCI choose to just improve the chances of the athletes by getting proper support staff for them?