This Indian Para-Athlete Begged In Berlin And Went On To Win Silver At Para Swimming Championships!
Kanchanmala Pande is an inspiration to all.
Last year Indian paralympians won 4 medals at Rio, 2 more than the Indian able-bodied contingent. They were celebrated, their stories were shared and they trended for about two weeks before we settled back into our comfort zones and pretending they did not exist. The Indian sports bodies are an even worse version of how the rest of us work - an Indian para-athlete who represented India at the Para Swimming championship had to actually beg on the streets of Berlin to raise enough money to compete under the national flag.
Kanchanmala Pande is not a name most of us would recognise easily, but what she has done is a slap in the face of those administering the finances of our para-athletes.
Not only did Kanchmala win the silver medal at the Para Swimming Championships she qualified for the World Championships as well. All with no help from the government and the country she won glory for.
Kanchmala has always had a tough life
Unbelievable as it may sound, this did happen, but this lady from Nagpur truly came through in the face of adversity. She became the only female swimmer from India to qualify for the World Para Swimming Championships this year.
She was not able to get money from the Government to sanction the tour. But this did not deter her as she earned second place. She beat the qualifying mark in 100m Freestyle (1:34:00), 100m Backstroke (1:41:00), 100m Breaststroke (2:01:00) and 200m Individual Medley (3:03:00), in which she also picked up a silver medal.
The Paralympic Committee of India and the Sports Authority of India did what they do every time an incident like this surfaces - they blamed each other and did absolutely nothing.
Daily Mail
'I had to qualify for the World Championships and I don't know why PCI didn't understand its importance,' Kanchanmala, who is also an assistant with the Reserve Bank of India in Nagpur, said in an interview to Mail Today newspaper. Such acute was the situation that Kanchmala had to take a loan of Rs 5 lakh just so she could participate in the tournament.
This incident is just the latest incident which shows just how badly India treats its disabled population, even if they are bringing glory to the country and flag. Can you imagine what happens to the disabled masses who are not athletes and don't have newspapers willing to hear out their stories? How can we build the new India if parts of us are based in such deep disgust and disdain for people who don't happen to be able-bodied?
She deserves a certain dignity, she should not have to hold out her hands for money in a an unfamiliar city when she is representing her country. It is a national insult to us for what she had to go through.
One hopes this matter is sorted out and something like this never happens again. This is just not done! If we expect our athletes to bring glory to the nation then the least we can do is ensure that they get their basic needs.