Govt must support differently-abled swimmers: Narayan

When he was in Class 6, Suyash suffered serious injuries in his upper limbs after getting accidentally electrocuted by unprotected wiring at a construction site. Both his arms had to be amputated and he subsequently spent six months in hospital following the incident. However, Suyash did not give up on his dreams and his love for swimming and continued to compete in differently-abled competitions domestically and made a promising start towards his goal. It didn’t take him long to start competing and winning medals for India at the international level. His hard work paved the way and he was this year selected for the Arjuna Award.

Suyash Narayan Jadhav won the gold medal in men’s 50 m butterfly S7 (6-7) category at the Para Asian Games held at Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2018. He clocked 32.71 secs. Training at the Deccan Gymkhana in Puna, Suyash gained prominence when he won a silver and a bronze medal at the 2015 IWAS World Games in Sochi (Russia), conducted by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation. Suyash believes that winning a Bronze medal in IWAS in Bangaluru in 2009 was the turning point of his life. While doing so, Suyash became the first Indian Para swimmer to register the A qualifying mark for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. In January, he won three silver medals. In the Polish Swimming championship, won four medals in the previous year. Now he recommended for Arjuna Award this year.

Suyash believes that the Government is helping them but swimmers need more support.

 “Government needs to support swimmers, especially those swimmers who don`t have both hands, who are blind, or are in a wheelchair and need an escort. The government should provide good lodging and boarding facilities during the National Championship,” he said

 In the end, Suyash wanted youth to realise that hard work has no substitute. “Hard work can get you anything. Don’t think what you don`t have, think of what you have and work on it,” concluded Suyash.