Sports is one of those rare industries where some athletes are adored, paid monumental sums of life changing money and given all the privileges of life. Flashy cars, expensive watches, glamorous partners are heavily documented in sports news, but why do some deserve more than others? Why are some athletes given greater recognition for their talent, hard work and dedication compared to others? One might argue that athletes of lesser known sports face greater hardships and para-athletes even more so.

In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Ms. Ekta Bhyan speaks about her journey as a para-athlete and its impact on her life, the support from GoSports Foundation, memorable achievements, the role of Mr. Amit Saroha, government policies and her future goals.

Q 1) What inspired you to become a para-athlete and how much of an impact has sports made in your life?

I started my sports journey at a very late stage in my life. In 2003 I met with a road accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury and ever since I have been using a wheelchair. After that injury, I was focused on my academics in order to be financially independent. The perception of society towards my disability was very negative and full of stereotypes. In 2013, I passed the civil services exam and it was a life-changing event. During that time I had given a few interviews and a few articles were published about me. Somehow the story reached Mr Amit Saroha (My present coach) who is a Paralympian and an Arjuna award winner. He asked me if I would like to join para-sports, it was never a pre-planned move. I had done a lot in academics and I thought I should give sports a try. In our society, people are not really aware of para-sports but my family supported me and I started my journey as a para-athlete. In 2016 I won my first national medal and my first silver medal was in the same year in Germany. My first medal motivated me a lot and I knew I could excel in para-sports. My family support and my coach Amit Saroha motivated and inspired me.

Sports have made a huge positive impact in my life. It is not just about me doing well in sports, this has helped me become a voice for those with disabilities. Now I can be a voice for those with disabilities and help people with disabilities be it mental or financial barriers. It is all possible because of the success that I have had and as a result, I have a platform to reach out to people. Apart from all this the best part is representing your country and winning medals for it.

Q 2) How has the GoSports Foundation supported your journey as a para-athlete?

In our country funding is very difficult especially for para-athletes. Most of the para-athletes in the county are dependent on government policies because there are very few private companies funding para-athletes. In my case, I am very lucky to have GoSports. They have supported me in travel, training and nutrition. They have taken care of all the aspects of my sports life. No one was really interested in para-sports but they were the first organisation to support para-sports and they have been doing this since 2012. I have been associated with GoSports in 2017. Now there are a few organisations like OGQ that support para-athletes but GoSports have been doing this for almost a decade. In our country, there are very few people who support para-athletes and GoSports have taken a great initiative to support us.

Q 3) You have accomplished many accolades in India and abroad, which is your most memorable achievement and why?

Though my first national medal will always be close to my heart, the Asian gold medal has induced a lot of confidence in me and from then on I started thinking about Paralympics and I started training for it. I guess you can say that the Asian gold medal is the most important and memorable one.

Q 4) How important of a role has Amit Saroha had in motivating you to become a para-athlete?

He himself is a Paralympic athlete and we share the same quadraplegic disability, which means both upper and lower limb suffer limited from movement. I used to idealize him because even with such a severe case of disability he was bringing laurels to the nation. I am not the only one who was motivated watching him, there are multiple athletes in the sports arena that have him to thank for the support that he provided them. He just wants to provide the best opportunities for disabled people because there are such few chances for them to be financially independent. Sports facilities can make it possible for such people to have that chance, if someone does well they help them find jobs. He has helped many people and I am just one of them. We need more people to support the process of bringing para-athletes from grassroots level for athletes that need guidance.

Q 5) According to you, what does the government need to do to encourage more physically challenged people to take up sports?

The needs of people with different disabilities change from person to person. The common thing every para-athlete needs is the right assistive device, like I use a wheelchair while another person might need an artificial limb. They are very expensive but they help a lot in making disabled people independent and help them perform better in sports.

We need the right infrastructure. There are places that are not accessible to all, for example certain places that wheel-chair accessible or ones that are not accessible to the visually impaired. Although there are a lot of places that support physically impaired people, not all places do. Everytime I go out I need to think in advance if my destination is wheelchair friendly even if it is a public place. I always need to keep in mind I might not be able to go to certain places. Accessibility is a challenge because even public transport is not disabled people friendly.

I have already said this but para sports persons are dependent on the policies of the government and there isn’t much funding there as it is. The central government has the same regulations for both able-bodied and para athletes and Haryana does too. However, there are multiple states that don't keep the athletes at par. We receive a second class treatment there and so we need good regulations that are carried out well in every state. There is a long way to go in terms of infrastructure and policies for Para-athletes athletes to receive the same respect and level of appreciation as the able-bodied sports persons.

Q 6) What are your goals and aspirations for the future? How do you plan to achieve them?

My short term goal is to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics and I have been training hard for it. As my long term goal I want to help persons with disabilities in India, especially the women in terms of education, employment and sports. The image of women with disabilities is not very good at the moment. The literacy rate of such people is at 30% as of now and they are not financially independent. Most importantly, they are all restricted to their homes. For many reasons there is a lack of opportunities and I would like to help them be independent and self-sufficient.