The will power that drives wheelchair cricketers

Gurgaon: A one-of-a-kind wheelchair cricket league, organised by non-profit Para Sports Foundation, was hosted in the city last month, with the aim of giving exposure to para-athletes. As many as 74 para-athletes from across the country participated in the tournament. In an interview with TOI, some of the cricketers shared stories of their extraordinary struggles.
Sunil Kumar (27) of Chandigarh Lions, narrated how not being ‘able’ enough to get a job led him to the cricket pitch. “I have a diploma in computers, I wanted to keep up with the world, but since I’m disabled, people never gave me a job. Eventually, I started playing cricket. It all happened three years ago when my friends encouraged me to play, as I was passionate about the game. From that day, my life changed. I have also played wheelchair rugby matches, and I have been selected to represent India,” said Sunil, who grew up in the Mother Teresa orphanage in Chandigarh.

For Irfan Haider (28) of UP Strikers, things changed after his family’s financial needs fell upon his shoulders. “I come from Ambedkar Nagar in UP. My father passed away in his sleep when I was four years old. There wasn’t enough money in the family to support our day-to-day needs. I did a number of odd jobs to make ends meet. Sometimes, I would even cry in front of people pleading for work. But when I became a cricketer, all thanks to Sachin Tendulkar, all of that changed. His never-give-up willpower inspired me to take up the game and never say no. I somehow survived. I made it,” he said.

Bheem Khunti (35) of UP Strikers said, “The first question employers would ask me when I would go looking for jobs was if I would be able to do it. I would respond in the affirmative, but it wouldn’t convince them. But I kept at it, and eventually got a job as a social worker. I have done 3,200 contractual jobs so far because nobody wants to give a permanent job to people like me. It never discourages me, though. I became a cricketer two years ago and proved that a person with disability can play sports too.”

“A big inspiration for me is how Lance Armstrong battled cancer and fought his way out. I told myself if he can do it, I too can fight disability,” he added.

The cricketers also spoke of differences they face in their everyday lives. Vicky Kumar Langotia (29) of Delhi Sultans, who suffered from polio since he was two-years-old, said, “There have been many occasions when a stadium hosting matches does not have ramps for us. We have to take help from passersby. There is no stadium in the country which is disabled-friendly.” Vicky, who represented India in 2013 against Bangladesh, made 97 runs of 40 balls in the first match, and 102 runs of 30 balls in the second match. He came to Delhi in 2011 looking for a job and ended up working in a night shelter.

The youngest of the lot, Laxman Yadav (24) of Chandigarh Lions, said he is still unemployed. “People don’t consider me capable enough to be part of their company,” he said. “It is not easy being in a wheelchair and playing cricket. But we don’t care how much it hurts physically. When there’s a ball up in the air that needs to be caught, we don’t think before jumping out of the wheelchair to take the catch. It’s difficult for us as we can’t perform our daily activities without assistance. The government should support us more,” said Laxman, whose passion for cricket drives him to cover 10km daily from his residence to practice sessions.