Disability Sports in India

I recently spent a week in New Delhi, spending part of my time coaching wheelchair basketball at Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust courtesy of Choice International UK.  A short period of time was also spent observing, at the India Spinal Injuries Centre in Vasant Kunj, coaches Jess Markt, an incredibly talented wheelchair athlete and humanitarian from the US who has been spending time coaching in a number of countries including Cambodia, Afghanistan and Palestine; Mark Walker, a gold medalist coach (1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, US)  now coaching in Hong Kong, from Australia, who although he does not have a disability, has developed incredible wheelchair skills in order to further understand the game; Aram Voerman  of Indian descent but having grown up in the Netherlands, now using his wheelchair basketball point guard and organizational skills to not only coach but to also drive his specially equipped van, from the Netherlands to the UK  in order to deliver used wheelchairs which can then be shipped to India. I met a young man, Dr. Virendra Singh a former player at the national level but now operating AADVA Healthcare in Gurgaon,  who is taking forward his incredible wheelchair skills and love for the game through coaching.  My friend Jayasankar Menon, a former captain of the Indian Men's National Basketball Team is taking up the call, along with some of his friends, to not only coach but also help to move the development of wheelchair basketball and other disability sports forward throughout the country.

Manoj Soma a man of Indian descent living in the UK and the CEO of Choice International and PM Latha of the Yes We Can Too Charitable Trust are the driving forces behind the dream of bringing wheelchair basketball and other disability sports to every part of India.  I witnessed further interest as once the training in Delhi was finished, there was a large meeting with Maj. H.P.S. Ahluwalia the Chairman of the India Spinal Injuries Centre, President of the  Paralympic Committee of India[1], Rajesh Tomar, Robertoangelo Ciccone, Physical Rehabilitation Project Manager of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), corporate representatives, NGO staff, athletes and many others to discuss how to take disability sports forward.  The driver is to train and get more competitors to the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games.

However, what is being unleashed has far greater potential than training a few very gifted athletes to win some medals and represent their country.  This past February I did some wheelchair basketball coaching in Chennai where I met PM Latha, a Para Olympian Swimmer, who has now started the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India.  This coaching was with only a few athletes, who had never played wheelchair basketball before, but has grown thanks to the organizing skills of Ms. Latha to the point of creating the Chennai Eagles wheelchair basketball team.

At the meeting described above, Ms. Latha noted that many persons living with disability in rural areas are the ones who really want to participate.  The fact that Manoj, Jess, Aram and Mark were going on to coach in other parts of the country will make a world of difference enabling persons with disabilities to taste what it feels like to exercise their bodies, compete and socialize with others in similar circumstances.  Other areas of India have also asked for similar training. 

This has become about discoverabilities, a term coined by Atul Prasad the former CEO of the National Trust where I was a VSO volunteer from March 2009-February 2012.  In truth it's not about what somebody can't do, due to a physical disability, but more about finding out what a person wants to do.  The technology exists and through adaptive methods anyone should be able to participate in whatever sport or life activity they so desire.  (After the meeting described above a young man in a wheelchair showed video of himself water skiing).

The road will not be easy as people's egos tend to get in the way.  Creating the India Wheelchair Basketball Federation, in a country as diverse as India, will take time, proper planning, persistence and an effort to bring people together and develop real ownership if this idea is to be successful.  But this grassroots effort could become a model for other countries; if India with a population of 1.2 billion[2] can do this, then why not other countries?  However I was told by a friend that trying to do this in Nepal with a population of only 30 million and a much smaller land area would be very difficult due to the politics.  Nepal also does not possess the infrastructure or possibly the will to construct this enabling more disability sports. 

In moving forward with promoting and providing greater opportunities for wheelchair basketball and other disability sports a very strong effort must be made at being inclusive in the actual organizing of, e.g. the India Wheelchair Basketball Federation.  After all inclusion is one of the words that is constantly heard from the various disability movements in many countries.  There must be proper planning, a three to five year strategic/business plan should be developed with measurable outcomes, timelines, budgets, those responsible for achieving plan goals.  Implementation and follow through, something I've found to be sorely lacking must occur.  Those involved, as well as, those on the periphery must realize that there is no short term fix, that this is a long-term venture in changing  attitudes.  This must be a partnership from all societal sectors, as sports is something that is cross cutting no matter how athletic a person is, i.e. this is about keeping bodies physically fit and providing opportunities for being social, a basic human need.  The corporate sector can play a huge role providing volunteers, hiring persons with disability and creating adaptive workspaces, helping to remove barriers, etc.  

Although I saw and trained some Indian coaches, further efforts must be placed on building the capacity and interest of Indian coaches to bring various sporting opportunities forward.  As an example many corporate houses in India sponsor basketball teams and some (many) of the players then have a reservation to work for the corporate.  This is a huge potential pool of volunteers.  Additionally larger organizations which operate in India such as the NBA, have the potential to bring wheelchair basketball, through their NBA Cares Program, forward to the masses. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Indians will win medals in future Paralympic games.  More importantly India, the world largest democracy, has the potential to teach the world about how to be more inclusive.  India, like most of the world has a long way to go.  Removing barriers and creating accessibility throughout the country is something which will require more sensitivity on the part of all Indians.  However, through properly creating platforms for disability sports and integrating these into the mainstream, India will show the world what it takes to see a person for who they are and not their disability.  As in the words of Atul Prasad, we will truly discoverabilities.