Wednesday was a red-letter day for wheelchair racers Manikandan Jothi and Manoj Sabapathi at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi. The Tamil Nadu para athletes finished 1-2 on the podium in the men’s 400 metre (T54) final, only the second time they have medalled at an international event.
“It feels good to finish on the podium. A medal at an event like a Grand Prix is important for ranking points,” Manikandan told The Indian Express after his event.
Wheelchair racing comes with its set of hurdles; from lack of spare parts and service centres in India, and an expensive racing cycle. India has a handful of wheelchair racers with not more than 20 competing at the Nationals. Wheelchair racing wasn’t Manikandan’s first choice.
Manikandan started off in high jump but switched to wheelchair racing on the suggestion of his coach. “I got lucky that I had a sponsor, so I could afford the cycle,” Manikandan said. “The cycle is very expensive and that is one of the reasons why many Indians haven’t thought about this sport. Even BMW makes wheelchair cycles,” he added
Even minor repairs of the wheelchair race cycle can be a major headache.
“There are no repair centers in the country and buying the cycle is very expensive. If there is even a small damage in our cycle, it costs us a bomb . My cycle costs around Rs 8 lakh but the high-end ones cost about Rs 30 lakhs to 40 lakhs,” Manikandan said.
Due to lack of service centers and proper technicians, the coaches act as technicians. “Our coach Vijay Saradhi learnt about the cycle and how to repair it in Thailand at a workshop. So if we face an issue, he fixes it for us,” Manoj said.
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In the 400 metres, athletes sitting on the wheelchair start on the curve and accelerate in the last 100m, similar to the able-bodied competition. The rules of lane change are also the same. If the cycle crosses the lane line, the athlete is disqualified.
“It is similar to the quarter-mile races. The start, the curve and the acceleration at the end,” Manikandan said.
“The only difference is how we operate the wheelchair during the race. We rotate the wheels to push the cycle and generate speed, and use the gears to navigate. We have two gears, the right gear is to keep the cycle straight and the left gear helps us in turning on the curve,” he explained.
Most of the Indian wheelchair racers come from Tamil Nadu as the government has invested in the sport by providing the cycles to the para-athletes.
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Both Manikandan and Manoj train at the JawaharLal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. “We have six racers in Chennai as the state government has bought cycles and distributed them among the para athletes. So, we atleast have a group to train with,” Manoj said.
Apart from Tamil Nadu, states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Odisha have wheelchair racers but the talent pool in these states is much smaller.
National Para Athletics coach Satyanarayan believes that India has talent but the exorbitant cost is a deterrent.
“It is tough for these athletes to invest in wheelchair racing. It’s a fan favourite event in para athletics because it is thrilling to watch,” Satyanarayana said.
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“The Tamil Nadu government is planning to open a wheelchair racing academy and they have purchased a few of these cycles to encourage more and more athletes to take it up,” he added.
Both Manikandan and Manoj hope to make an impact at the upcoming World Para Athletics Championships in September in New Delhi.”Our next aim is to qualify for the World Para Athletics Championships and perform in front of our home crowd, so more para athletes take it up,” Manikandan said.
