India's performance at the Paris Paralympics 2024 has been super inspiring! Showing overall improvement over its previous achievement from the Tokyo Paralympics where India won seven gold medals, nine silver and thirteen bronze medals, in the total medal tally amount of twenty-nine. It was sheer willpower on the part of the contingent that lifted India to a very decent 18th position in terms of the overall medals tally, unlike the 24th rank in the Paralympics held in Tokyo.

Swami Chinmayananda’s words, ‘Give up your defeatist mentality and take every moment as an opportunity to fight in whatever area to the best of your ability and with utmost sincerity’ aptly describe the lives of the sportspersons who were determined crusaders in their struggles. India's para-athletes did not suffer as nightmares of defeat but instead stepped up and took on dreams. Every problem was a chance, facing life fiercely and not backing down.

India shone across a variety of sports but most so in athletics. The golden jubilee of India's campaign was marked by a fine performance by Navdeep Singh in the men's javelin F41 event. His win, as well as that of Sumit Antil in men’s javelin throw F64, uplifted nationalist sentiments that Indian para-athletes were merely not participating but competing at the highest level in the world.

Every sportsperson’s story of their life journey to the Paralympics is about courage and the willpower to fight the odds—human attributes that no one can take away from them. For these sportspersons there are no physical barriers, but only hurdles to cross. Each of their throws, the jumps or the sprints they performed showed faith in themselves, belief and persistence in the idea that while the human body may have its limits, the human spirit knows no such constraints.

Take Manish Narwal who was awarded a silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event for example. He faced many difficulties due to his condition but despite this, Narwal trained hard which ultimately led him to win. Instead of avoiding the challenges that seemed insurmountable, these athletes chose the opposite and conquered them.

In exactly the same way, Nitesh Kumar won the gold medal in the Men’s Singles SL3 event in badminton and Praveen Kumar took away gold in the High Jump T64 event, proving anything is possible when the mind is right and focused.

An Inspiration for India’s Youth

The achievement of the Indian group in Paris is more than a simple medal score. It conveys a strong message to the Indian youth that no struggle is too big. In today’s modern, hectic, highly competitive world where everyone wants to win and winning becomes the only goal, these para-athlete’s realities teach that there are some things called perseverance, patience, and faith in one’s self.

The words of Swami Chinmayananda also point this out: that it is by no means an unusual act for one to be pessimistic in the face of troubles. However, it is a fact that the people who do not give up but persist on to the end will be winners. The case of India’s para-athletes illustrates this principle very well. Faced with social discrimination, poverty, and physical challenges, these athletes did not allow their circumstances to limit them. Instead, they decided to lift themselves, compete and inspire.

Smt. Parbati Barua