Will Karamjyoti Dalal become the first Indian woman to win Paralympic gold?

Discus thrower Karamjyoti Dalal has won five medals in less than a year

The recently concluded IPC World Para-Athletics Championship highlighted some of India’s Paralympic hopefuls for next year’s mega event. 2004 Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia and club thrower Amit Kumar Saroha, both medalled at the sport’s showcase event. However, it was discus thrower Karamjyoti Dalal’s meteoric rise that captured the event’s imagination.

The 28-year old from Haryana could become the first woman from India to medal at the Paralympics next year.

Dalal didn’t end up medalling at the World Championship, but her fourth position finish raised several eyebrows within the Para-athletics fraternity. The reason why Dalal is one of the most talked about para-athletes within the circuit right now is because she only took up discus throwing last year.

From being unranked to top four in one year

Her rise from the bottom of the rankings to fighting for the top three positions has taken her little less than a calendar year.

Originally a part of the national Kabaddi setup, she was forced to leave the sport after a fall from her terrace. She said, “When I was 21, around seven years back, I was sitting down on my terrace and there was a sudden jerk, due to my prior epilepsy problem, which saw me fall down on my back. I already had spinal cord issues from the age of six. The doctor stated I had to be diagnosed with Paraplegia. It took me a year or so to even regain motor sensations. But slowly and surely I started getting better.”

She couldn’t move for close to a year, and was completely bed-ridden. It took Dalal about two years to become thoroughly mobile on her wheelchair.

Participating in the F-55 category, which caters to athletes with no motion senses below the waist, Dalal first announced herself as a serious contender, during the 2014 Asian Games.

Three gold medals at the National Games ensured her a comfortable entry to fight amongst the continent’s elite. Within three months of taking up the sport, she found herself in the unique position of throwing against the world number two.

“I had no idea about para-athletics, my Aunt told me that something like this existed, so I gave it a shot. I took to it very well, on hindsight, if I took it up when I didn’t have this problem, then I might have done better also.”

Dalal during the 2014 Asian Games

After funding herself to Asian Games in Beijing, Dalal won two bronze medals to introduce her skill to the world. She said, “Most people didn’t even know me, so they probably dismissed me as an easy challenger, but I threw a then career-best 16.1 to bag the bronze medal.”

What stands out even more is Dalal’s growth trajectory. Every major event seems to bring out a world-class performance out of her. Starting out with a throw of merely 10m, she has graduated to a force to be reckoned with.

The World Championship saw her thrash the qualification mark of 16m. She said, “I was a bit nervous because I was throwing close to the qualification mark before, but did do a 19+ throw during practice, but all went well and I almost medalled.”

Lack of support from Paralympic body and Sports Ministry

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) forgot to send Dalal’s application for the Shot put event at the World Championship.

The Sports Ministry was quick to acknowledge Dalal’s instant success, including her among nine para-athletes within the Target Olympic Scheme (TOP) scheme. That being said, the turbulent journey of Para-athletics in India has taken a toll on Dalal as well.

She said,”Honestly, I think the Paralympic body being dissolved has been more of a boon for us, because they harassed us. Leave that, the Sports Ministry themselves don’t release the payments. I had to literally force the payments out of them for my training stint in Finland. Either they said we submitted wrong papers or they would delay. On the other hand, the Paralympic Council only made things worse, we barely had any infrastructure during national games and training was next to none.

“We could only do normal training, that too thanks to coaches. We didn’t have toilets to go to, no proper equipment to practice and most importantly, we weren’t given money to attend international events. I only got funding for the Asian Games that is it.”

For the past three months, Dalal has been training in Finland to hone her skills. The training definitely paid off as she added another three metres to her distance.

She said, “I was shocked to see the facilities and the respect given to para-athletes over there. For us, after training is over everything is done. But there, they teach you how to take care of your body post training. They have everything in one place. For me, I had to go from one place to another. Can you imagine, the Paralympic Council didn’t even announce the Asian Games qualifiers! They said the lesser the participants, the lesser is our work. I am sure if I train in countries abroad, I can win gold.”

Age and stagnancy of performances could see Dalal easily climb to the top spot by 2016. Germany’s Mari Buggenhaggen, Marie Hawkeswood and China’s Dong Feixia are now above the age of 40, and have failed to throw above 25.5m in the last year. Considering Dalal’s growth rate, it shouldn’t take her long to reach that mark. The Gurgaon-based thrower needs only .50m to reach the average bronze medal mark.

To extend her reach towards Olympic glory, Dalal will now request the Ministry for training funds. She wants to train in either Poland or the UK. She said,”To be the best, you have to train with the best. Sadly, most facilities are provided abroad, and if that’s where I have to go, I will. They have everything in one place, I am eyeing nothing but the gold medal. I am thankful to my father for supporting me through my journey. I am fulfilling his dream also, not just mine. I will medal at the Paralympics!”

Karamjyoti is supported by Anglian medal hunt.

Quick Links

Edited by Staff Editor