How para-athletes made India proud at Hangzhou Asian Para Games

She shoots arrows with her feet. He is paralysed from the neck down, so he does it with his mouth. They are among India’s elite para athletes who totted up 111 medals – 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze – at last month’s Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.While every Indian feels proud of their achievements, few know how they overcame their physical challenges with grit. TOI gives you a peek into the lives of five such athletes. 104975695Sheetal Devi | Archery Videos and photos of Sheetal drawing a bow with her toes were all over social media last week. The 16-year-old from Loidhar village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar was born without arms. As a child, she learnt to write with her toes, but archery was never on her mind. A few years ago, while Sheetal was in Bengaluru for treatment, an NGO volunteer saw her and introduced her to coaches at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sports Academy in Jammu that trains athletes free of cost. “The senior coaches thought archery would be a good fit for her. We figured out that she can use her legs and the equipment was then modified for her,” says Abhilasha Chaudhary, Sheetal’s coach at the academy. Sheetal, who won three golds in mixed archery with her teammate Rakesh Kumar in Hangzhou, says she is now aiming for a Paris Paralympics gold next year. 104991977Adil Ansari | Archery The archery bronze medallist used to be a swimmer until one day in 2002 when he dived into the pool, hit his head on a rock and fractured his neck. He has been paralysed from the neck down since. Adil had to relearn basic tasks like eating and drinking. “It took me an hour to shave, I used to hold the razor with both hands, because I had lost movement in my fingers,” he says. Then, the wish to play revived. “The first thing I did was get back to swimming for a few years, but I could not continue since the infrastructure near pools is not disability-friendly,” he says.In late 2015, Adil discovered archery. Because he cannot use his fingers to release arrows, he has modified his equipment: “I use a clip that I place in my mouth and press it to activate the trigger.” 104975821Praveen Kumar | High Jump The 20-year-old from Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, was born with one leg shorter and weaker than the other, but it didn’t stop him from winning a high jump gold in Hangzhou. Praveen thanks his parents for disregarding doctors’ advice to make him use crutches as a kid. “They knew if I held crutches I would not be able to play at all.” He took up high jump in school and competed with able-bodied athletes. Coach Satyapal Singh recognised his talent and decided to train him in Delhi. While Praveen credits Singh with all his success, he trains really hard – six hours every day.But over-training is also a risk for him. “My left leg is weaker than my right leg and that creates problems when I train too hard. My nerves start paining and the muscles become so sore that the leg refuses to move,” he says, adding that he can better his Hangzhou result as he went into the event nursing an injury. 104975851Ankur Dhama | Running Ankur, a farmer’s son from Sonipat in Haryana, was six when doctors told his parents he would not be able to see again. He was sent to the school for the visually impaired on Lodhi Road, Delhi, where the foundation of his future success was laid. “My teachers at the school were very supportive and introduced me to the right coaches,” he says.In 2007, Ankur participated in his first running event at the national level and has been unstoppable since. He won gold in the men’s 1,500m and 5,000m T11 events in Hangzhou. Besides competing, he also trains other para athletes. As a 100% visually challenged runner, Ankur relies on a guide runner to point him in the right direction. “It takes about two months for the guide and the athlete to sync their running. We have to ensure that our feet are falling at the same distance at the same time, otherwise both can get injured,” says Ankur, adding that guide runners should be rewarded for the success of para athletes. 104975882Paramjeet Kumar | PowerliftingPolio crippled Paramjeet’s legs when he was two, and he grew up without playing. But when he was 17, the man from Punjab decided to channel his energy into body building. He took up powerlifting seriously after winning a national-level medal in 2011, and would ride 10km daily on his tricycle to reach his training centre.The efforts paid off when he won a powerlifting bronze at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018. This time, though, the 31-year-old wheelchair-bound lifter finished fourth because of a shoulder injury. Undeterred, Paramjeet wants to focus on next year’s Paralympics. “It’s my dream to win a medal at the Paralympics. I have promised myself I’ll get married only after I win a medal.”