Para-athletes criticise Haryana babu's remark on 'lack of contest'

Some 80 para-athletes meet Haryana sports minister, request him to amend new policy


CHANDIGARH: Haryana's leading para-athletes, who have been lobbying the Khattar government to end discrimination against differently-abled sportspersons in its new sports policy, faced a grim reminder of insensitivities they face in personal and professional lives on Wednesday.

Fighting against the state government's discriminatory policy, which says if able-bodied

athletes

win a gold medal at Asian Games and Olympics, they will get Class I level jobs in the state government even as para-athletes who bag a gold at

Paralympics

or Asian Para Asian Games, will have to settle for Class II level jobs, the para-athletes faced insensitive remarks from a bureaucrat.

When around 80 international- and national-level para-athletes met the state's sports minister Sandeep Singh, a hockey star before his foray into politics, on Wednesday to complain about the discriminatory policy, during the two-hour meeting the unnamed government official said the different jobs for athletes and their para counterparts in the sports policy could be attributed to the 'lack of contest' in para-games.

The remark had the para-athletes bristling with hurt and anger. "The reason what we were given is quite bizarre. The policymakers think that there is a lack of competition in the para-games, which shows their lack of knowledge. The United Nations and the International Olympics Committee have made it clear that there is no difference between Olympics and Paralympics, even the logos of both the events are the same,"

Rio Paralympics

silver medallist Deepa Malik told TOI.

"There are already so many taboos in the society towards the people with a physical disability. The sad part is that if a state government will discriminate, then it is very unfortunate. It sends a wrong message to the society as well," 2018

Asian Para Games

gold medallist Ekta Bhyan said.

On lack of competition in the para games, the Tokyo-bound para-athlete said: "Each category has its minimum qualifying standard (MQS). Even after qualifying for the MQS, we need to earn that slot through World Championship, and then only the top six ranked para-athletes will qualify for the Paralympics. It is not that easy to qualify for the Paralympics."

However, Malik, who is also the president of India's Paralympic Committee, was optimistic about the eventual outcome of the meeting and said that the Haryana sports minister had assured them the issue would be sorted out soon. "We put our point to the sports minister that our games are at par with the able-bodied athletes. There was lots of confusion about the end number of categories in the para-games, and we have cleared all of their doubts. The meeting was very fruitful overall, and we are confident that an amicable solution will come up," she said.

Amit Saroha, a three-time Asian Para Games medallist, said: "Our fight is for equality, and we have given all the details to the sports minister. We are hopeful that the government will take their decision back."

Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh specified that he would take all the necessary steps to correct the issue. "The meeting was very positive. I have heard their grievances and have already asked my office to solve this issue as soon as possible. I am also arranging a meeting for the top para-athletes of our state with the Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in the coming week," Sandeep told TOI.