What a privilege it is to spend an evening with elite athletes who have sacrificed much to win laurels for the country and fill our lives with joy! The sixth edition of the annual Sportstar Aces Awards in Mumbai played host to the cream of Indian sports, all gathered snugly under one roof.
“A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning,” tennis legend Billie Jean King once said.
And the athletes present on that night have proved the world and their naysayers wrong more times than I’ve burned my morning toast. Their stories of grit and guts are enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most stoic bystander.
From the seasoned Karnam Malleswari, who started the charge for Indian women at the Olympics with her bronze in Sydney 2000, to the 17-year-old Sheetal Devi, who has set her sights firmly on a Paris 2024 Paralympic podium, each one had to overcome insurmountable odds to reach the top.
“The best moment was when I won the individual gold at the Para Asian Games; the Tricolour was flying high. My dream is to win the gold in Paris too. When I went to school, I started writing with my leg. I do all my work with my legs. I consider my legs to be my hands,” a young Sheetal, unfazed by the spotlight, told a crowd of moist-eyed adults. Born with phocomelia, a disorder causing underdeveloped limbs, Sheetal stands tall as the world’s first armless woman archer (open compound).
Sheetal Devi speaks after being facilitated at the Sportstar ACES Awards 2024 in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu
For Malleswari, a trailblazer in Indian sports, the Lifetime Achievement Award was doubly sweet as she was introduced by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics weightlifting silver medallist Mirabai Chanu, who was just six when the weightlifter from Srikakulam lifted India’s mood with the only medal from the Sydney Games.
Living in a one-bedroom flat in Delhi, Malleswari and her husband transported 180-kg barbells from Kolkata to Delhi to keep her training on track ahead of the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games.
Mohammed Shami, who led the Indian pace pack with 24 wickets at the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, pipped the competition, which included the likes of teammate Virat Kohli and Indian national football team captain Sunil Chhetri, to win the Sportsman of the Year for Team Sports.
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“I am from a place that has no facilities. My journey has hinged on luck, effort, and support from my family and friends. I am grateful for everything—even a person who has contributed 1 per cent to my success,” the fast bowler said.
The tale of the night was not just about the winners but also about the camaraderie and respect these exceptional athletes have for each other.
Shami, displaying the same patience he shows while bowling, waited for Rohan Bopanna to wrap up his speech on stage before grabbing a selfie with the freshly crowned doubles World No. 1. Sheetal, meanwhile, was every superstar’s favourite star — Leander Paes, Parul Chaudhary, P. T. Usha, Viswanathan Anand, Sunil Gavaskar, and the whole room queuing up for a selfie with the starry-eyed teenager.
The author, too, couldn’t resist the temptation.
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