Delhi State Paralympic Meet

A two days altruistic event was organized by Paralympic Committee, Delhi, with a view to give a platform to the people with disabilities, to display their different abilities and to provide them an opportunity to identify and pursue their talent. Sponsors like Bank of Maharashtra, Endura Mass and Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram came forward to serve the cause and promote the two days event particularly created for people with disabilities.

In the beginning of the Paralympic event, Sh. D.R. Saini, Principal, Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram welcomed both the participants as well as the audience in his welcome address. Additionally, a galaxy of guests became a part of the lamp lightning ceremony. Later, the honour of opening the sports event was given to Dr. Naresh Kumar, Director, Bank of Maharashtra, Member, A.I.C.C. and General Secretary, Delhi Pradesh. Overall, Sh. Balwan Singh, managed and monitored the 5th Delhi State Paralympic meet, 2012.
From a number of schools, institutions and organizations namely, National Association for Blinds (NAB), Chetanalay, Blind Relief Association, VPS Academy, Miranda House and many others participated and around 600 disabled persons of different age groups took part in the 5th Paralympic Meet, held at the Sports Complex, Delhi Public School, R.K Puram, Sector-12, New Delhi on 13th and 14th of October, 2012.

Likewise, Antardrishti – one of the social welfare wings of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS), working for the people with visual impairment and physical handicap, also participated in the Paralympic meet. Antardrishti’s, core objective behind participation was to unearth the hidden potential and to enhance & encourage the talent and skills of the people with disabilities together with reinforcement of their lowering self esteem.

Under the divine guidance and far-sighted approach of Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, especially for this section of the society, around 13 people (8 visually impaired and 5 physically challenged), participated in the sports meet, for the first time and accordingly, necessary trainings and suitable sports related accessories/kits were provided to them. On the whole, Swami Sumedhanand Ji, took the complete charge of the carrying out all the necessary formalities relating to Antardrishti’s participation in the event and monitoring all the activities and performance of the participant’s, right from the preparation phase to the execution phase.

Participants from the visually impaired category namely, B-1/T-11: Fully Blind, B-2/T-12: 30-40% Vision, B-3/T-13: 60-70% Vision, joined and performed on the first day of the event, while the others from Physically challenged category i.e.: T-58: on wheel Chair, T-46: with Single Hand/Hand Problem, T-44: Below Knee/Thigh Problem, T-42: Single Leg, performed on the Second day. The categories were further segregated into Junior’s (School students) as well as Senior’s (Open for all participants with physical disabilities) respectively.

During the event, the spectators experienced and enjoyed a variety of games consisting of 100m, 200m and 400 metres Race, Shot-Put, Javelin Throw, Long Jump etc.
From Antardrishti Team, Sandeep Negi, Suraj Kumar, Herojeet Singh, Babika, Raju, Usha, Harish Chandra, Rati Ram, Pinku, Devender, Sanjeev, succeeded in winning and bringing home 14 medals, in different sports, like Long Jump, Javelin Throw, Discus Throw, Shot-put etc. The triumph boosted the self-esteem of differently abled participants. With only a few practice sessions, these differently abled participants managed to bag 9 winning positions on the first day and 5 on the second day of the paralympic sports event. The sparkle in the eyes of each one of them displayed joy.It appeared that their ardor could not be stolen and energy could never be drained. In addition, to cheer the participants, an army of 35 volunteers from YPSS contributed pricelessly towards the success of the event.

Lastly, the winners were honoured and prized with Certificates, Medals and Gift Hampers along with an affirmation on getting a direct entry to participate in the National-level Paralympic meet to be held in January, 2013. Paralympic Committee members Shri Gursharan Singh, Ms. Amrita Singh, Dr. Kaushal from Paralympic Committee of India along with Guests including, Dr. Sh. Naresh Kumar, Director, Bank of Maharashtra, Member, A.I.C.C. and General Secretary, Delhi Pradesh and Swami Sumedhanand Ji from Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan extolled all the participants with disabilities, for their enthusiasm, passion and for maintaining an optimistic attitude toward life, notwithstanding the disabilities and day to day hardships they underwent. Subsequently, the Antardrishti team participants were inspired by the program In-charge, to surmount any stumbling blocks, in the journey of life.
By and large, the victory of the Antardrishti participant, infused in them a great deal of self-worth, harness their hidden talents and enthused them with a will to perform even better in future competitions. They experienced a sense of joy and contentment and achieved an optimistic approach to lead a life full of dignity. For them physical handicap it is no more a curse.

On the other hand, YPSS Volunteers under the banner of Antardrishti were appreciated by the Paralympics members for extending a helping hand in the smooth implementation of the event activities, for exhibiting humanitarian attitude and righteous approach, during the two days event.

At the end, Swami Sumedhanand Ji, on behalf of Team Antardrishti of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan received the Guest of Honour award at the closing ceremony of the event.