Here’s the story behind Parag Patil’s preparations for Australian Masters Games

Patil, 46, is an accomplished masters [see box] athlete, having bagged an impressive 17 medals (two gold, 11 silver and four bronze) across numerous international competitions in the pre-COVID phase

Here's how cab driver, Parag Patil, prepares for Australian Masters Games

Parag Patil practising at the Mumbra TMC Sports Complex. He has won multiple medals for India in international events. Pics/Atul Kamble

In today’s day and age when most people find it difficult to balance just their regular jobs and personal life on a daily basis, Parag Patil, a cab driver by profession, is successfully juggling his job, home commitments and intense training for the upcoming Australian Masters Games in Canberra (October 18 to 25). And, he is confident of winning multiple medals, too. The unfortunate part though is that Patil, an accomplished 100m sprinter, long jumper, and triple jumper, has been unable to find funding for the trip, which is around Rs 4 lakh.

Patil, 46, is an accomplished masters [see box] athlete, having bagged an impressive 17 medals (two gold, 11 silver and four bronze) across numerous international competitions in the pre-COVID phase. He has always managed his expenses through crowdfunding with his last competition being in Australia in 2019. However, the upcoming Australian Masters Games is his first competition in the post-COVID era where he has been hit by a shortage of funds.

Masters athlete Parag Patil in the app cab he drives for a living

First big event was in 2010

“My first major competition was the 2010 Veterans Athletics Championships at Balewadi, Pune, where I won three silver medals [one each in 100m, long jump and triple jump]. Then at the 2013 World Masters Games in Turin, Italy, I won a silver [long jump] and two bronze medals [one each in long jump and 4x400m relay]. At the Australian Masters Games in 2015, I won two gold medals [triple jump and long jump] and two silver medals [60m and 100m sprints]. At the 2017 World Masters Games in Auckland, I won a silver [triple jump] and followed that up with another silver in the same event at the 2018 Asia Pacific Masters Games in Penang. Then, at the Australian Master Games in 2019, I won three silver medals [60m, 100m, 200m and triple jump] and one bronze [long jump]. Currently, I’m training hard for the Australian Masters Games and am confident of winning at least four medals again [like in 2019],” Patil, who will be participating in long jump, triple jump, 100m, 200m and 60m disciplines Down Under, told mid-day after a training session at the TMC Sports
Complex in Mumbra.

Parag Patil with his medals

Patil’s medals are even more special given the plethora of hardships he has endured to win them. “Each medal has its own story. In 2013, I reached out to some politicians, who made me promises based on which I took a loan of R1.5 lakh, but they then backed out. The rate of the euro went from Rs 71-72 at the time of booking my stay to R86-87 at time of payment. So, I was forced to cut on my food expenses. For 13 days, I went half-stomach, sometimes managing with just breakfast, but still won two silver medals and a bronze. Then, in 2015, I wrote to a Marathi Mandal in Adelaide and they hosted me. In 2017, I appealed to New Zealand’s Marathi Mandal and they helped me get a shared accommodation with someone in Auckland. I remember I twisted my knee badly while doing the long jump there and was advised complete rest by the medical staff, but I had promised my crowdfunders that I would come back with a medal so I somehow did the triple jump and achieved a distance of 10.60m to win the silver medal,” explained Patil, whose father was a welder and mum, a homemaker. He currently lives with wife Sunita and son, Krupaunsh, 18, in a modest 1 BHK at Badlapur. His son is in college at MIT Pune.

Patil has been inclined towards athletics from a young age: “At 11, I took part in state-level competitions in Thane for the first time. There were no events for my age group, so I participated in the U-17 category. Then later on, till my graduation, I kept competing in state and national-level meets. After graduation, I took up part-time jobs which afforded me the time to train.”

Parag Patil and his cab

BSc graduate from Pune

Interestingly, Patil has a Bachelor in Science degree from Pune University, but was forced to become a cab driver after failing to land an appropriate job. “I wanted to be a school teacher but it didn’t work out, so I started as an athletics coach at an institution in Badlapur, but it was not financially viable too. So, I chose to drive a cab and it helped me earn around Rs 30,000-40,000 monthly. In the run up to competition, I often drive for 14-16 hours at a stretch and sometimes don’t return home for 2-3 days and sleep in the car to make that extra money. I need Rs 4 lakh for the upcoming Australian Masters Games. The flight ticket is Rs 1.5 lakh while the visa fee is Rs 30,000. Stay [15 to 18 days] and food will cost Rs 2 lakh.

I also have a previous loan that I took for earlier competitions for which my wife’s Mangalsutra is kept as collateral. Sunita has been my biggest support. She truly understands my passion for athletics,” Patil signed off.

17
No. of medals Patil has won across int’l competitions

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All about the Masters Games

The Masters Games, held across different countries, was started for athletes who aren’t able to qualify for the Olympics after a certain age. All Olympic disciplines are included at these games, but unlike the Olympics, the athletes participating in Masters events get no financial support from the government. While the World Masters Games is organised every four years and is governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the Australian masters Games is held every two years. The age criterion is different across different competitions with most events being for athletes above the age of 30, with typical age-groups being across five-year gaps like 30-34, 35-39, and so on.