Having won three golds, seven silvers and a bronze for India in para-climbing, 29-year-old Manikandan Kumar sadly still awaits official recognition as an athlete by the Indian government.
This Bengaluru-based ace climber is the country’s only para-athlete to have won 11 medals in the sport at the international level. But neither financial support from the government nor a corporate sponsor has come his way.
With climbing being officially proposed as a new sporting event to be included in the 2020 Paralympics to be held in Tokyo, the state of Karnataka is sure to steal the limelight, as Manikandan is the only Indian para-climber qualified enough to contend in the prestigious Games.
Unfortunately, the state government is yet to even consider him eligible for the Ekalavya award.
Manikandan was afflicted with polio at the age of five, leaving his right leg weaker than his left. “I was diagnosed with 30 percent disability, as the portion below the right hip is weak,” he told The News Minute.
Ask him how he discovered climbing, and he says with a smile:
As someone who was fascinated by sports from a very young age, Manikandan (or Mani as he is affectionately called), focused on building his physical strength, while simultaneously figuring out how to optimize the use of his three strong limbs.
Keerthi Pais –the only coach he has ever had- not only trained him from 2002-09, but also provided him with food and shelter and even gave him a small stipend as an incentive for Mani to work for him.
While the stipend helped him overcome poverty that had earlier been an overwhelming hindrance to pursuing his passion, Mani faced an even bigger hurdle in the form of parental opposition.
His parents were so much against his taking up climbing as a career that he had no choice but to not to inform his family when he first went abroad to represent India.
When Mani is not competing, he prefers to train people either at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium or at privately organised adventure camps. The money he obtains from these is his only source of livelihood.
Every competition that is held abroad alone costs him close to Rs 2 lakh. The General Thimmaiah Academy of Adventure sometimes comes forward to sponsor the air fare, while he resorts to crowd-funding to meet all other expenditure incurred.
Mani is now training hard with an eye on the 2020 Paralympics. But as of now, all he wants is a regular sponsor who will help him train for the 2017 World ParaAthletics Championships to be held in London.
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