Author: Sharmistha Gooptu

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris September 4 was an exalted day for India in the Paris Paralympics. First, Harvinder Singh bagged a gold medal in archery and shortly thereafter both gold and silver went to India in men’s F51 Club Throw. Dharambir won the gold and Pranav Soorma took the silver. Next morning, I was having a chat with Satyanarayan ji, the head coach of the Indian para-athletics contingent, and I happened to say that the medal count predicted was certainly well on track, and that we had crossed the Tokyo medal tally. He corrected me. It is not so easy…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris I was wondering if I should actually ask Palak Kohli this question. I have seen a lot of high achievers in different fields in India become conscious or express regret when asked about having left their school or college education incomplete in the process of becoming a professional at a very young age. And Palak had been upset and tearful just a while earlier. It was the day she lost her match and crashed out of the Paris Paralympics, but had joined us in the media section to watch the match between Suhas Yathiraj and Sukant…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris I set out this morning to visit yet another fan zone to do my Paris Diary segment. Saint Sulpice is a hallowed piece of French history. A mediaeval church with its first foundation in the twelfth century; it was built up during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and is one of the largest churches in Paris, after Notre Dame. And true to the spirit of integrating the Games into the very heart of Parisian life, a fan zone has been set up in the forecourt of the church, just ahead of a magnificent marble fountain with…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris I had reached early for the men’s javelin throw F64 final tipped to be gold loading for India, with Sumit Antil, Sandeep and Sandip Sargar in contention. The atmosphere went from expectant to electric, as people started pouring in and the presenters whipped up the mood. I got my cappuccino and settled down. The audience is nothing short of super pumped up, swaying, laughing and dancing. The main presenter in the field tells the audience to dance it up if they see themselves on the big screen and I get into the groove along with the…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris Mona Agarwal did everything that I did and that’s why I could identify with her so much! She was a rebel and left her home in Jaipur at the age of 23 to be independent and pursue a career. She had been afflicted with polio as a child and managed her life in a wheelchair, away from home, living in hostels or in paying-guest accommodations and earning her own living. When her grandfather had said he would not allow her to ever return to the family home for her independent ways (because in her family, women…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris Yesterday, I made a trip to Parc de Choisy, which houses one of the 25 or so fan zones in Paris that have been set up to involve Parisians in the spirit of the Games through the Olympics and the Paralympics. I had earlier visited the fan zone in Parc Monceau on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics and then the Terrace des Jeux, a fan zone set up in front of the Paris Town Hall. Each of these are festive areas, but returning from Parc de Choisy yesterday, I had a sense…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris I was interviewing Dr. Ameya Kagali, chief team physician of the Indian Paralympic contingent in Paris and his words stayed with me. “We are not here to see an athlete’s impairment, we are here to see competition.” Not disability but competition. Not a ‘them, who are different from us’ mindset, but ‘them, who strive to win and take home the kudos’, just like anybody else. Yesterday, when Avani Lekhara won gold in 10m air rifle, Standing SH 1 was a category of competition, not a category of disability. The day before, Sheetal Devi broke the Paralympic…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris Bhavnaben Choudhary comes from rural Gujarat. According to her coach Sunil Tanwar, women over there are supposed to do chulha and bartan. She’s soft spoken and during any conversation, she’s a picture of demure calmness, almost devoid of emotion. Asked about her struggles, she doesn’t say very much beyond acknowledging that she has indeed had many struggles. Bhavna is competing at the Paralympics in women’s javelin throw in the F46 class. Bhavna’s husband was opposed to her sport. According to a source, he had threatened saying he would break her legs if she dared to step…

When I spoke to Neeraj Chopra after his silver in Paris, we had discussed the lack of support for Paralympics in our country. “There are quite a few categories and often people don’t understand them,” Neeraj had mentioned. True enough, and key to following the Paralympics and supporting our Paralympians, is to acquire a broad sense of the technicalities involved. To understand para-sport, it is crucial to understand the category in which an athlete is competing, which also indicates their levels of disability. The categorisation is entirely based on the severity of disability and athletes are placed accordingly in their…

Back to the MPC, the very same stadia and the same host city. On the way to start my first Paralympics coverage in Paris, I am excited. Excited to be able to witness true stories of grit and determination of those that are the truest fighters – our Paralympians. Back home for a few days after the Olympics, we left Kolkata this morning for Paris. Over the next couple of weeks, we are set to document India’s journey in Paris yet again. My first-ever interaction with a Paralympic athlete was with Deepa Malik at the first RevSportz Trailblazers Conclave in…