MUMBAI, Jan 12: Not to brood over their predicament, more than 1,000 disabled athletes participated in the State sports meet organised by the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped (NASEOH) held in the city last week.Sportspersons on crutches, wheelchairs and other artificial aids vied against each other with heartening competitiveness and aggression that was moving.The track and field events at Priyadarshini Park went along with the swimming events held at PJ Hindu Gymkhana. From the organisational point of view, the meet for the disabled threw up its own share of organisational challenges and oddities that was met with patience and resilience.With disabled athletes going for broke, debate and controversy, often showed up on categorising athletes based on extent of handicap. For instance a walking race for athletes on crutches was held up as some athletes wearing callipers and prostheses did not conform to stipulation.Happily, the controversies were sorted out by thedoctor attending in this meet, Tushar Agarwal, orthopedic surgeon attached to MGM Medical College.Events included races on foot for those suffering partial or total impairment of seeing and hearing, and on wheelchair for paraplegics. Track events such as javelin and shot put followed. Swimming events for the blind and paraplegics met with similar enthusiasm.Sudha Balachandran, executive secretary and director general, NASEOH, along with assistant director general Yogendra Shetty believe that sports is an ideal way for handicapped persons to express themselves and prove their capabilities. Apart from sport, the Society has played a vital role in helping rehabilitation of the disabled through education, industrial training, employment and finance. Sports, however, poses to be the ultimate endeavour to haul the disabled from notions of inferiority or self pity. ``What we're seeing is the tip of the ice berg,'' Agarwal says. ``There are scores more handicapped people who can come forward to participate,''added Agarwal who was assisted by Surgeon Lieutenant Ms. Madhurima Nandy, a surgeon with the Indian Navy and Dr Kiran Modi, Agarwal's peer at MGM Medical College.Sponsors were profuse in their support. Corporates and businessmen coming forward were Godrej Soaps, Hindustan Lever, Bombay Dyeing, Alok Industries and Rajpal Industries along with individual efforts by NRIs Arun Chavan, Madhu Gheewala, Raghu Khataria, Aslam Merchant, Siraj Rahimtulla, Kishor Parikh, Mayur and Pratap Madhwani and Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Exports.
