The Australian Dy. High Commissioner, Nicholas McCaffrey, stressed on the “resilience to cope with defeat and come back stronger”, as he engaged in a sporting conversation with para athletes Nidhi Mishra and Tarun Dhillon at the Australian High Commission here on Monday.
The idea was to strengthen the focus to support para athletes, thoughtfully planned on the eve of the International Day of persons with Disabilities.
The Deputy High Commissioner reiterated the collaboration between Australia and India, on a wide range of sports, in the run up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Para athletes, Asian gold medallist Tarun Dhillon and bronze medallist Nidhi Mishra, were brilliant in expressing their thoughts, as they acknowledged the growing support for para sports, and that “A lot more needs to be done”, particularly for women athletes, in terms of having friendly and safe sports space.
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“I believe in the magic of visualisation”, said Tarun, while Nidhi said that it was the “Burning desire to excel in sports”, that drove her to great heights, even as both highlighted that sports had given them everything including the identity.
Tarun said that before injuring his knee, he had trained as a normal cricketer at the same club as Virat Kohli, and that it was easy for him to transition into the world of para sports in badminton. He went on to win the World Championship gold as a 19-year-old, and subsequently made it to the Paris Paralympics.
Nidhi, a professor of history with a doctorate, said that diminishing vision had driven her to para athletics, and lamented the fact that she did not get leave to train for making the Indian team for the Paris Paralympics.
“We need to prioritise sports”, said Nidhi.
Expressing her admiration for Australian athletes, Nidhi said, “Like we have military training, we should have training with Australians in sports”.
Tarun said that it was the love for sports that defined his career and pointed out, “Play sports for the love of it”.
Nidhi emphasised on the need for stringent laws in dealing with the culprits for crime against women.
“We don’t need separate sporting facilities. We need escalators and ramps in the normal sports facilities. We just need accessible space for sports,” Nidhi said.
The CEO of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), Rahul Swami said that India had signed an agreement to host the World Para Athletics Championships, for further strengthening the bond of support for persons with different abilities.
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