The athlete stated that there was considerable disappointment in her village when she was born
Preeti Pal. Pic/Ashish Raje
The sports section of this paper recently highlighted the story of a woman para athlete from Uttar Pradesh. Preeti Pal is a Paralympian, winning two bronze medals in the sprint 100m and 200m in Paris 2024, and also won a silver and bronze medal at the World Para Athletics in Delhi, recently. She was felicitated recently at a South Mumbai club, speaking about her beginnings, sporting journey and her goals for the future.
What shocked the audience into silence, though, was the para athlete’s candour about the ridicule she had to face as a girl born with cerebral palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood, says Wikipedia. Some signs and symptoms include poor coordination, stiff or weak muscles, and tremors.
The athlete stated that there was considerable disappointment in her village when she was born. People told her father that he had yet another daughter, and that ‘too’ one afflicted with a disorder. There was contempt and rejection in those comments. But, her father was determined to make his daughter independent.
This was similar to the comments another athlete, a table tennis champion using a wheelchair, had stated when she said a small town in Gujarat had often ridiculed her as she was afflicted with polio and had to be carried to school, etc.
Similar attitudes, though they may not be so overt, are present in big cities too. Disappointment at a girl child or yet another girl, and mocking the differently abled, are prevalent. We need to change, think differently, make inclusivity, equality and opportunity an on-ground reality which begins with our attitude. These medal-winning super sportspersons just held up a mirror to society.
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