“There are people much less fortunate than us, and I don’t mean people hungry sleeping in the streets either,” - Della Reese
Indeed. Misfortune in the life of a human being need not necessarily be deprivation of basic amenities. It can also be through uncontrollable factors about which sadly he/she can do nothing about.
One such example in the Indian sporting fraternity is that of K.Y. Venkatesh, who at 4 feet 2 inch tall, is making all the right noises despite having to endure difficulty with regards to his height.
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Venkatesh believes that the Dwarf Sports community, a group for whom he and several others are helping spread awareness, are coming into the limelight thanks to the World Dwarf Games that was first started in 2013.
“Initially, there wasn’t great awareness. But after the World Dwarf Games, more people started to know about it. As a result of that, more dwarf athletes have come forward and participated in many sports,” he said in an interview with Sportskeeda.
He further revealed that the dwarf community had tried to seek help from the government to help their plight, and said that due to certain guidelines, with regards to the Paralympic Council, and a lack of events at the Paralympics, they didn’t get the support that they needed.
“Yes. We did approach the government twice or thrice for our international meet. But they had put some guidelines which stated we had to fall under the Paralympic Committee. At the Paralympics, the only dwarf events are shotput and discus throw, which are the track-and-field events, whereas at the World Dwarf Games there are many events like athletics, swimming basketball, hockey etc.
“So they thought this was something peculiar and so they didn't clear the team. But despite that our athletes went and won medals,” he said.
On a personal level, Venkatesh has a highly enviable record, having won a total of 6 medals (two golds, one silver and two bronze) at the World Dwarf Games. He credits his father and other para-athletes for inspiring him to take sports seriously.
“Each parent will have their own dreams for their children, but all can’t be a Sachin Tendulkar or an Abhinav Bindra. My father is a good chess player, so he taught me that and I began competing at different levels.
“Later on, when I saw the likes of CN Janaki represent India at international events, it inspired me to take sports seriously and I started competing in various events,” he said.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) is presently suspended, but Venkatesh is confident that the suspension will soon be cancelled.
“Yes. There is an internal squabble presently on, but the sports ministry is not hindering. The athletes are not affected and are being taken care by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) under the ministry. Shortly, it will be recognised by the apex body and in the future, we should get back to competing under the national flag,” he said.
Venkatesh also had a message for everybody out there who wished to help the para-athletes.
“I just want to say that GIVE THE PARA ATHLETES A CHANCE TO SHOW WHAT THEY CAN DO,” he concluded.
