Bbc
Rakshitha was the first blind Indian woman to compete in the 1500m at the Paralympic Games
“When I grew up, everyone in my village said:” It is blind, it is a waste, “said Rakshitha Raju. Now, 24, she is one of the best athletes of Para in India. “It makes me so proud,” she said.
Rakshitha was born blind in an isolated village in southern India and had lost her two parents at the age of 10. She was raised by her grandmother who hears and altered by speech.
“We are both disabled, so my grandmother understood me,” she said.
When Rakshitha was about 13 years old, her school sports teacher took her aside and told her that she had the potential to be a great athlete.
“I wondered:” How? I’m blind, so how do I run on a track that I don’t see? “”, She recalls.
His teacher explained that visually impaired runners can have a guide, who flows alongside him. The athletes are joined by an attachment – a short strap with a loop at both ends so that each of them clings.
Visual disabilities can vary between athletes, therefore in certain events, competitors carry masks on their eyes to ensure equity
For a while, other students acted as a guidance runners for Rakshitha. Then in 2016, when she was 15, she participated in the national games, where a man called Rahul Balakrishna spotted her.
Intermediate runner, Rahul had previously participated in the 1500m himself. He had been presented to Para Athletics by a coach of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) a few years earlier, when he recovered from an injury.
There was a shortage of guides and coaches and Rahul decided to play both roles. The government pays him a salary for the coach of his work, but he does not pay guidance runners.
However, if a visually impaired runner won an international competition, their guide also gets a medal – something Rahul had not done in his own career. “I felt proud to be able to do it for me and my country,” he said.
Rahul and Rakshitha have been training together for about eight years
He has invested his own time and money to support Rakshitha, helping him to move to Bangalore in 2018 so that she can have access to better training facilities.
When they run “these are the little things that matter,” said Rahul. “When they approach a curve, the guide must alert the athlete or when a competitor exceeds, he must say it to the athlete so that he can make a little more effort.”
Competition rules mean that they cannot hold hands – they can only be connected by the attachment, and the guide runner is not allowed to push, shoot or propel the visually impaired athlete.
Over time, the pair has built a strong link and now “I believe in my guide more than me”, explains Rakshitha.
They won gold medals at the 2018 Asian games and 2023, returning to a resounding welcome in the village of Rakshitha. She smiles by describing how people who used to taunt him organized a procession for her, encouraging and stirring flags.
Rakshitha’s grandmother (second on the left) joined Rakshitha (third on the left) and Rahul (right) for the parade through their village
Rakshitha became the first blind Indian woman to qualify for the 1500m at the Paralympic Games and she competed with Rahul in Paris in 2024.
They missed a medal in France, but the only other visually impaired female athlete to qualify for Paris, Sprinter Simran Sharma, arrived on the podium, bringing a bronze home.
Simran is partially seen and when she started running, she ran alone.
But in 2021, when Simran participated in the Paralympic Tokyo Games, she moved away from her way and realized that she would need a guide if she wanted to continue running.
But research has proven to be difficult. “It cannot be an athlete. You need someone whose technique corresponds to yours and who works as fast as you,” she explains.
Getty images
Simran (R) with his runner guide Abhay (L) participated in the 100m in the Paris Paralympic Games
Simran finally spotted a young athlete called Abhay Kumar, who trained in the same place as she is. The 18 -year -old was between competitions and guide Simran was an opportunity for him to get experience during international events.
“They sent me videos and after watching them, I said to myself:” I’m a quick learner, it’s going to be easy “,” he said. “But when I ran for the first time, it turned out to be very difficult.” Each movement must be synchronized.
Simran and Abhay did not have time to train together for a long time before their first international competition – the world athletics championships in the 2024 world in Japan – just a few weeks after their meeting.
Their first race, the 100m, ended with a disaster.
Simran and Abhay practice each stage of the race to ensure that they are synchronized
“None of us knew the rules correctly,” says Simran. Abhay “thought he had to stop me to let me cross the line first, so he stopped completely”. They were disqualified because he should have continued and cross the line just behind her.
But when they came to the 200m race, they knew what they were doing and hit gold. Simran has become the world champion in the T12 category.
By driving at this top, they went to the Paris Paralympic Games. They arrived fourth at the 100m, but won bronze in the 200m race and Simran became the first Indian woman with a visual impairment to win a paralympic medal.
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Simran and Abhay (before) arrived third in 200m in Paris
But Simran worries how long Abhay will remain as a guide. He also has his own career to think.
Although guides runners get a medal when a pair wins, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) says that it cannot support guides with wages, cash prices or offer a career path to long term.
“All we can do is support short -term needs such as their food, accommodation, transport and training facilities,” explains the national Athletics coach of the PCI, Mr. Satyanarayana, who carries a name.
Rakshitha and Simran now have sponsorship agreements that help finance their training. They pay their guides themselves and give them a part of all costs they earn. But Rahul and Abhay would like more state support and want to be authorized to apply for public sector jobs reserved for athletes and women – like the athletes with whom they work.
Despite the uncertainty around his future with Abhay, Simran is already considering the next Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. “I will not rest before changing the color of this medal,” she said, hoping that next time, she will gain gold.
Rakshitha hopes a medal next time too, with Rahul by his side. “She must win a medal,” he said. “There are many like her in the villages. They do not know sports and possibilities. Rakshitha would be a model for them.”
The Prix de la BBC Indian Sportswoman of the year (Iswoty) is back with its fifth edition to celebrate and honor the remarkable achievements of female athletes in India. Discover the nominees – the winner will be announced on February 17.
