Blinded by fate, 17-year-old champion athlete from Usgao sets sights on international stage

PANAJI: Sakshi Kale didn’t look out of place at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim. Having travelled 40km from Usgao alone, walking through a dirt road to catch a bus and then changing it twice to reach the stadium, the 17-year-old was ready to test herself against the rest of the athletes for the 100m sprint at the SAG/GAA Mini State Athletic Championship.
There was nothing unusual for the naked eye. Only that Sakshi was visually impaired and 100m sprint wasn’t her first choice.
Sakshi won gold in long jump at the Para Athletics Nationals last month
The first blind athlete to win a medal for Goa at the Para Athletics National Championship in Bhubaneswar last month—a gold in long jump in the T12 blind category with a jump of 4.6m—Sakshi was forced to opt out from her pet event as “it becomes difficult to compete in regular long jump events”.
“At the para nationals, the arrangements are different. The markings are thicker and in white, here it’s red. I won’t be able to see the markings when I run (to take the jump),” she told TOI after the event.
At the para running events, the blind runners (T11) always have a guide, but those categorised as T12—who have some sight—can opt to either have a guide or run alone. Sakshi, who has 75% blind disability, ran without a guide, while every other visually impaired female runner partnered with male guides.
She picked up a silver medal in the 200m and finished fourth in 100m, running alone at the nationals.
“I had trained alone, so a guide would have been an impediment,” Sakshi said.
Training to run without a guide, despite her blindness, helped Sakshi take part in the state championship last week. The 100m event was relatively easy. “It’s running in a straight line as fast as you can,” she said, after finishing a creditable fifth from among seven finalists.
Sakshi took to athletics only in January after Sudesh Gaude, formerly with the directorate of social welfare, put her in touch with the Goa Paralympics Association, led by Sudesh Thakur.
Growing up, Sakshi took an instant liking for sports. She played football with the boys, even captained her U-14 school team at MIBK at Khandepar but has now decided to focus solely on athletics with an aim of making it big on the international stage.
“We realised about her blindness only when she was about four years old and by that time it was too late. Despite the handicap, she handles everything by herself. Sports is now her life and I have no doubt she will go far” said mother Milan.
It’s not been easy for the Class 11 student of GVM’s SNJA Higher Secondary School in Farmagudi.
It does not help that she stays in Kumbea Koden in Tisk Usgao, where buses don’t even ply. She has to walk through the dirt road covered by bushes on either side, before she can catch a bus.
That’s only one part of her struggle. Covid-19 has also dealt a blow. Her father—a driver by profession—works just twice a week with a local builder, while her mother lost her job as peon at a school in Ponda.
“We have to overcome the difficulties,” Sakshi said.
The Ponda sports complex, where she trains under coach Snehal More, does not have jump pit, so she has to travel all the way to Bambolim to practice her jumps with former state champion Devi Gaonkar keeping a close eye.
“I asked my sister to show me how to travel to Bambolim by bus on the first day. She came with me. Since then, I have been travelling alone on three buses (Usgao-Ponda-Panaji-Bambolim). If you are determined enough, you’ll always find your way,” she said.
Her gold at the para nationals means Sakshi now stands a chance to represent India in international events. Her father has applied for a passport. Soon enough, she will have one too.