Mumbai: To prepare simultaneously for two tournaments at national and international levels is no mean task. Especially if they are for two different sports, and you have a physical disability.
Pratik Gupta (24), a single amputee, is practising day and night for a T20 wheelchair cricket tournament for people with disabilities between India, Bangladesh and Nepal to be held in Nepal in the first week of November; and the National Paralympic Swimming Championship in the last week of November in Chennai.
While his journey has been challenging, Mr. Gupta has not let his disability come in the way of his achievements. He has even taken it a step further, giving free swimming lessons to people with physical disabilities. So far, he has trained around eight children between 17 and 24 years of age, three of whom are visually challenged. Two of his students will soon participate in the State paralympic swimming competition.
Against the odds
Mr. Gupta lost his left leg in an accident when he was just three years old. He was admitted to a school for the disabled at Agripada, where he studied till Class V. During this period, he developed an interest in swimming and participated in several inter-school swimming competitions for the disabled, bagging silver and bronze medals. “My grit and passion for swimming motivated many others to take up the sport, and many students started participating in swimming competitions,” he says.
A few years later, he started going to Kamgar stadium at Elphinstone Road, where he improved his technique by observing other swimmers. “Many of the lifeguards who worked at the stadium became friends. On seeing my love for swimming, they suggested that I participate in the Veer Savarkar Coastal Swimming Championship in the Arabian Sea in 2008.” Mr. Gupta took up the challenge and applied in the general category. “I did not even know there was a separate category for swimmers with disabilities,” he says.
The enthusiasm, however, died down as soon as Mr. Gupta sat in the boat that took participants to the designated spot. “On seeing the rough sea, the desire to participate just vanished, and I began to curse myself for taking up the challenge,” he says. Though Mr. Gupta was seated in the front seat, he was the last to jump into the sea. The ordeal did not end there. The swimming cap, which was of inferior quality, tore and blocked his eyes. Nevertheless, he not only completed the championship, but also found a place in the top 10.
“This was the turning point in my life,” he says with a smile. Mr. Gupta’s talent was spotted by Rajaram Ghag, the first Indian swimmer with a physical disability to cross the English Channel (in 1984 and 1988), and Percy Hakim, a coach at the Dadar and Kamgar stadium pools. Under their guidance, Mr. Gupta participated in State and national-level swimming competitions from 2010 to 2016. He won four gold medals at the State level, and one bronze medal at the national level in 2013.
Love for cricket
Along with swimming, Mr. Gupta nurtured a deep love for cricket. “I loved playing gully cricket with my friends near our chawl in Lower Parel, and was an all-rounder,” he says.
A social worker in the area, Vinod Gupta, encouraged him to form a team of 15 players with disabilities. In 2010-11, the team participated in the Mayor’s cricket tournament for the physically disabled at Dadar, in which 15 teams from different States took part. While Mr. Gupta’s team (he was 19 then) lost the match, he and five other players were selected to play in the junior national cricket tournament at Beed in 2016. The team bagged the runner-up position. Two months later, the team participated in the national cricket tournament in Gujarat, where they bagged the first position.
Based on his performance during the tournament, Mr. Gupta was selected in the international team of special players as an extra and was asked to attend the training camp at Agra. He was selected to participate in the T20 wheelchair cricket series against Bangladesh held on August 25 and 26 this year, and was elevated to the fourth position. While India lost the series, Mr. Gupta was in the top five performers. He scored 52 runs in 14 balls and took five wickets in 10 overs.
Fund crunch
While some philanthropists have funded his travel expenses and cricket kit, the paucity of funds continues to be Mr. Gupta’s biggest challenge. “Till the last minute, I am never sure if I will be able to attend a tournament,” he says. Mr. Gupta is seeking donations for the Nepal tour.
These challenges, however, have failed to defeat his spirit. “It is unfortunate that a lot of talent is unable to scale higher due to the shortage of funds and support from the government. Given funds and infrastructure, they could take India’s medal tally to one of the highest.”
Mr. Gupta has set higher goals for himself. He wants to take part in swimming events in the Paralympics, and to take special cricket to greater heights. “I want more special children to take up sports and bring laurels for the country.”
