When you search his name on Google, the top result would be a stud in Wikipedia which says, “Ranjith Kumar Jayaseelan is an Indian athlete. He won the bronze medal in the Men's Seated Discus Throw EAD at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, with a throw of 29.88 meters.”
That literally sums up the kind of recognition he gets. But, that does not stop him from tirelessly raising his voice for the Paralympic athletes, who deserve more help and support from the government.
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Ranjith Kumar’s personal accomplishment as a Paralympic athlete is no ordinary one. Representing India, he has won 10 gold medals, five silver medals and seven bronze medals in various throwing athletic events in a variety of international Paralympic meets, bringing pride to the nation.
He also has several awards to his name, including the President's medal for best sportsmen and the 2012 best employee award of the state government. At 45, he is at present, a proud physically challenged athletic coach with the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), in Madurai, passing on his skills as well as his passion for sports to young aspiring Paralympic athletes.
Sports can make one smile
Firmly believing that sports can make a difference in the life of a person with a disability, Ranjith Kumar takes his work as a coach to heart, producing many talented Paralympic athletes who are now representing India in international Paralympic athletic tournaments.
“Sport gives the differently-abled people, a chance to shine. It gives them hope and boosts their self-confidence and self-esteem. It also increases social interaction which is very important for a person with any disability to develop, so that he/she doesn’t feel isolated by the society. Be it children who are not very good at studies, be it adults who are unable to work, sport helps them come out of their shell,” he said.
Many of the athletes that he trains have mostly been under his care from when they were as young as eight or nine. Strongly recommending encouragement of sports in schools and colleges for the differently-abled students, Ranjith Kumar feels that sport brings a smile to differently-abled children when they are often shunned at school.
“If the disabled students are unable to keep up with others in studies, they are often looked down upon by both their peers and family. Sports, by mere participation can make them feel like they have achieved something great, thereby providing encouragement. It has the power to make one blossom again,” said the physically challenged coach, and reminisced the smiles on the faces of the parents of the children he had trained, when they watched their young ones try their best to get medals.
With ten years experience, Ranjith Kumar is a master when it comes to the art of training a person with any disability in athletics.
“Differently-abled persons should be handled with care as they are quite sensitive. The tricky part is to find the right sport based on their disability and ability. Once you do that, the rest falls into place. With special training and care for six days a week, it becomes possible for them to flourish,” he said. The training ‘menu’ hence differs with each person. Additionally, the SDAT coach also recommends his trainees to take appropriate food supplements so as to ensure proper nutrition.
‘Everyone should be treated equally’
Since his appointment as a coach by the SDAT in 2007, Ranjith Kumar has trained around 700 Paralympic athletes. However, despite all his best efforts and achievements, he still had to struggle for support from the government.
Just last year, a proposal for offering him a full-time coaching position with the SDAT was rejected. This was a few months after he had to file a petition in Madras High Court seeking to declare as illegal, the selection of three candidates for the ‘Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games 2015’, after his nomination for the award was rejected despite fulfilling all the required criteria.
He questions, “Everyone should be treated equally. That is what is in our constitution also. Why is being differently-abled still a limitation in our country?”
The differently-abled coach echoes the cry of many present Paralympic athletes for better support and facilities from the government for them. Although many Paralympic athletes have represented our country with pride, sadly private sponsors and NGOs are still the ones who widely support the differently-abled sportspersons.
Many Paralympic athletes all over the country are often without proper funding, hostels, training facilities and supplements from the government. There is and has always been apathy towards the differently-abled athletes in India.
According to various news reports, last year, in March, Paralympic athletes were made to stay in disturbing conditions during the National Para-Athletics Championships that resulted in the disbanding of the Paralympic Committee Of India, the following month.
Hardly months later, around 28 Indian Paralympic athletes, set to travel to Taoyuan, Taiwan for the 8th Asia Pacific Deaf Games, were denied lodging in the Sports Authority of India hostel in the national capital. The differently-abled athletes were in fact made to spend the night on the pavement. The athletes were also denied their passports and visa at first, for the trip to Taoyuan.
It is not as though the government does absolutely nothing for the differently-abled sportspersons. There are many schemes specially for them that have been implemented, which are good incentives both monetary-wise and quota-wise. But, with all that the athletes do to bring pride and glory to our country, the differently-abled sporting community requires and deserves more.
Ranjith Kumar, hopeful of many more others achieving his feat and perhaps something even greater in the future, said with a smile, “The potential of the differently-abled is special. If the government provides more support, India can produce many more talented Paralympic athletes and win many more medals in tournaments.”
