If there is something called back-end support for elite athletes ahead of important assignments like the Paris 2024 Olympics and the Paralympics, which start in less than 48 hours, then the names of PT Usha and Devendra Jhajharia need to be taken in the same breath. One saw before the Paris Olympics, where India won six medals, that Usha – India’s star athlete of yesteryear – put in her best effort in organising support staff and also catering to personal coaches, physios and, of course, a strong medical team under Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala.
Critics and naysayers may still say what is the big deal about all this, but as one who was present in Paris and Chateauroux for the Olympics, to see Usha lend a personal touch was a great sight. If Manu Bhaker won two medals and Sarabjot Singh also earned a bronze medal, to have brought on board their personal coaches — Jaspal Rana and Abhishek Rana — was Usha’s effort as President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Yes, a lot more could have been done, but given the complex matrix the Indian sports system is, where babus [bureaucrats] still exist, even this was a big achievement.
Rewind to the chaos before the IOA elections in December 2022, when there was anarchy in the National Olympic Committee. The big officials were at loggerheads and nothing was moving. To those who think Usha was paratrooped into that position as head of the IOA by important people in power, please do not grudge it. She is still an athlete at heart. And if seeing is believing, Usha spent plenty of time with athletes and teams in Paris and at the shooting venue at Chateauroux to prove that a neta [leader] can work with even more passion.
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Back to the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), which was faced with suspension from the Sports Ministry earlier this year as elections were overdue. It required a collective effort from all the well-meaning people involved, Deepa Malik included, to restore sanity. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was also more than a bystander and ensured the elections to the PCI went ahead. It was important, as if India had been suspended just five months before the Paralympics, it would have been a shame.
One man who threw his hat into the ring and got support from the entire fraternity was Jhajharua, the soft-spoken former champion who is now president of the PCI. This writer had interviewed Devendra, one of India’s greatest Para athletes, for RevSportz in February, and again after the PCI elections. One thing which he said kept ringing like a bell. “I am still an athlete and care for all my athletes, it is my job to ensure they are given confidence and supported well,” he said. “Whatever people may say, the way the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed the Para athletes is important.”
Hours before the Para athletes flew from New Delhi to Paris on Sunday, the PCI president said the same thing, that he expected at least 25 medals from the Paralympics. Is this hype or hope, one may ask? Be sure, Jhajharia knows what it is to be a Para athlete. He has worked with them, sat with them and understands them the best. The smiles on the faces of athletes were a sight to see at the IG airport in New Delhi.
Far from being a sporting nation, Indian supports its athletes, other than cricketers, only when they win medals. If not, the choicest of words like “flop”, “chokers” and “useless” are used for athletes even when they come fourth in the Olympics. At least with the Para athletes, one expects more sensitivity.
It is Jhajharia’s desire to give back to the Para athletes which is important. He has won all awards from Arjuna to Khel Ratna, and also the Padma awards as a competitor. This time, as PCI president, the champion athlete who won three Paralympic medals will be there to back each athlete in Paris. At least, he will understand their psyche better. That is why it is good to have folks like Usha and Jhajharia heading the IOA and PCI.
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