The 2014 Para Asian Games, a sports event for differently-abled athletes begins on Saturday in Incheon, South Korea. India has fielded a 135-member contingent that includes 87 athletes in the event, which is a companion to the Asian Games. .
At the last edition of the games in 2010, India finished with a haul of 14 medals. This included a gold medal by Jagseer Singh in the men’s triple jump event. Singh also won a silver medal in the long jump event.
At this edition, the events in which Indians will be participating include athletics, badminton, swimming, shooting, weightlifting, archery and wheel-chair fencing.
The run-up to the games hasn't been controversy free. All the Indian athletes have been made to sign a contract that restricts then from making any complaints to the media. Athletes who do so will face a lifetime ban, reported the Times of India.
Here are some of the athletes you should look out for in the coming days
Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha Men’s high jump
Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha from Karnataka was struck by polio as a child, which affected his left leg. In his early days as a sportsman, at district and state-level meets in Karnataka, Girisha competed with abled body athletes. At the Paralympic Summer Games in London in 2012, Girisha jumped a height of 1.74 m to win the silver medal, the first Indian to win a medal at this event. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 2013.
Devendra Jhajharia Javelin throw
Devendra Jhajharia was born in Rajasthan. His left hand had to be amputated when he was eight after he touched an electric cable while climbing a tree.
Jhajharia took up athletics in 1997 when coach Ripudaman Singh saw him competing at a school competition. At the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004, he threw the javelin to a world-record distance of 62.15m. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2005, the first Paralympian to receive the award.
Sanjeev Kumar, 24, is from the Telupura village in the Firozepur district in Punjab. At the National Open Para Badminton Championships in September, Sanjeev Kumar won the gold in the wheelchair category of both the men’s singles and doubles event. He had participated in the 2010 inaugural of the Para Asian Games but failed to win any medals.
On the national circuit, Kumar has been the reigning champion in the singles section since 2011.
Here’s an interview NewsX did with Kumar just before leaving for South Korea.
Sharath Gayakwad Swimming
Sharath Gayakwad was born in Bangalore in 1991 with a deformed left hand. At the Little Flower Public School, his parents were apprehensive about sending him to mandatory swimming classes but at the age of 9, he eventually began going. Within a few months, he was participating in swimming competitions for the disabled.
The 23-year-old swimmer has won more than 30 gold medals since 2003. Gayakwad is currently the number 1 Asian in multiple swimming events. In the recently concluded Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Glasgow, he narrowly missed out on a medal in the 200m individual medley event.
He will be looking to defend his number one ranking in the 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly events but will be competing in seven different events.
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At the last edition of the games in 2010, India finished with a haul of 14 medals. This included a gold medal by Jagseer Singh in the men’s triple jump event. Singh also won a silver medal in the long jump event.
At this edition, the events in which Indians will be participating include athletics, badminton, swimming, shooting, weightlifting, archery and wheel-chair fencing.
The run-up to the games hasn't been controversy free. All the Indian athletes have been made to sign a contract that restricts then from making any complaints to the media. Athletes who do so will face a lifetime ban, reported the Times of India.
Here are some of the athletes you should look out for in the coming days
Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha Men’s high jump
itntalk.com
Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha from Karnataka was struck by polio as a child, which affected his left leg. In his early days as a sportsman, at district and state-level meets in Karnataka, Girisha competed with abled body athletes. At the Paralympic Summer Games in London in 2012, Girisha jumped a height of 1.74 m to win the silver medal, the first Indian to win a medal at this event. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 2013.
Devendra Jhajharia Javelin throw
Wikimedia Commons
Devendra Jhajharia was born in Rajasthan. His left hand had to be amputated when he was eight after he touched an electric cable while climbing a tree.
Jhajharia took up athletics in 1997 when coach Ripudaman Singh saw him competing at a school competition. At the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004, he threw the javelin to a world-record distance of 62.15m. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2005, the first Paralympian to receive the award.
Sanjeev Kumar Wheelchair badminton
sportswire4u.blogspot.com
Sanjeev Kumar, 24, is from the Telupura village in the Firozepur district in Punjab. At the National Open Para Badminton Championships in September, Sanjeev Kumar won the gold in the wheelchair category of both the men’s singles and doubles event. He had participated in the 2010 inaugural of the Para Asian Games but failed to win any medals.
On the national circuit, Kumar has been the reigning champion in the singles section since 2011.
Here’s an interview NewsX did with Kumar just before leaving for South Korea.
Sharath Gayakwad Swimming
Wikimedia Commons
Sharath Gayakwad was born in Bangalore in 1991 with a deformed left hand. At the Little Flower Public School, his parents were apprehensive about sending him to mandatory swimming classes but at the age of 9, he eventually began going. Within a few months, he was participating in swimming competitions for the disabled.
The 23-year-old swimmer has won more than 30 gold medals since 2003. Gayakwad is currently the number 1 Asian in multiple swimming events. In the recently concluded Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Glasgow, he narrowly missed out on a medal in the 200m individual medley event.
He will be looking to defend his number one ranking in the 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly events but will be competing in seven different events.
