THE WINNING FORMULA

INDIA’S RICH MEDAL HAUL AT THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS IS A TESTIMONY TO THE POWER OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND WHAT IT CAN DO TO BOLSTER THE WINNING ATTITUDE

- BORIA MAJUMDAR

Krishna Nagar had just won India’s fifth gold medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo, taking the total tally to 19. The record was impressive by itself—54 athletes winning 19 medals, including 5 golds. It was even more impressive when one considers that India’s total medal tally between 1968, when it first participated in the Paralympics, and 2016, when it won four medals, was 12. Deepa Malik, president of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), was elated, though the victory also brought with it a pleasant dilemma. “The PCI isn’t a very rich organisation,” she says, “but we are committed to honouring our athletes. We had ordered gold bracelets for each of our medal winners as tokens of gratitude and affection. We had ordered 15 and now I have the happy problem of increasing the number!” For the first time in India’s sporting history, the result at a Games at this level had exceeded expectations. However, this isn’t a flash in the pan—it could be said the result proves that a process that began in 2004 is gaining momentum.

In 2004, when Devendra Jhajharia, a javelin thrower, and India’s most successful Paralympic athlete, was on his way to the Athens Games, he had just one person to accompany him to the airport—his father. There were no politicians, bureaucrats or media persons to give him a send-off. At the time, his father said to him, “Agar tum jeet ke aate ho, toh badlav aayega, nahin toh kuchh nahin hoga (If you return victorious, things will change, else nothing will).” Today, Devendra’s father is no more, but the “