Arjuna Award to Murlikant Petkar, 52 Years After First Indian Paralympic Gold Medal

Murlikant Rajaram Petkar, the legendary figure of para-sports, has been bestowed with the prestigious Arjuna Award 52 years after he made history by winning India's first gold medal at the Paralympic Games. This is a grand recognition by the Indian government on the achievements that had been quite long overdue from the world of para-sports. The same Arjuna Lifetime Award that the 80-year-old will be receiving in Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17 January, 2025, shall be given away by President Droupadi Murmu.

He turned it into a fantastic tale of persistence and dogged struggle while he guided himself towards becoming the gold medal winner in the Paralympic Games at Heidelberg, Germany in 1972. He was a soldier in the Indian Army's Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), when he was, before he lost his ability. Though posted in an army camp in Srinagar during the 1965 war with Pakistan, grievous injuries in an attack led to paraplegia. However, this physical setback only further opposed his spirit, and he went on to achieve sporting greatness.

In the 1972 Paralympic Games, Petkar participated in men's 50-meter freestyle swimming. The man won a gold medal and broke three world records. His was an extraordinary performance, overcoming the impediments that he faced due to his disability as he carved a name for himself in the Indian sports history book. However, his achievements remained largely unrecognized for decades because para-sports did not receive the same attention and support as able-bodied sports during those times.

In fact, the contributions of Petkar to para-sports in India have gone almost for five decades ignored by successive Indian governments, and he could never receive the Arjuna Award, the pinnacle of recognition for excellence in sports in India. It is the great tragedy in evidence of how few resources and support there are for para-athletes in India. Still, as is attested by his feats in swimming and his successes in other disciplines, Petkar's life stands as a testament to the human spirit of perseverance.

Besides swimming alone, it was not swimming alone that defined Petkar's sporting career. In fact he was an all-rounder in sports before his injury, who excelled in multiple disciplines. Indeed, he also aspired to become India's best boxer before his disability. Within months of injury, Petkar had won a gold medal in boxing at the Military Games in Japan. But after that injury, life took a new twist, though he never wavered his love for sport and led his way to excel in para-sport.

Besides swimming to victory at the 1972 Paralympic Games, Petkar was also a competitor in javelin throw, precision javelin throw, and slalom at the same Games. He reached the finals in all three of these events, proof of the sporting abilities and variety of the athlete. Performance at the 1968 Mexico Paralympic Games saw him compete in para-table tennis, where he made it to the second round.

Although the para-athlete at his time did not get adequate recognition and mere facilities, outstanding performances by him prove the determination in him. The swimming event, for example, with gold medal has now become a gold landmark moment of Indian sporting history, and is now aptly enough being remembered in recognition of the accomplishment.

This indeed reflects the difficulties that para-athletes experienced in India way back then. Para-sports were not supported with proper attention and infrastructure that they needed to flourish, making it very hard for athletes such as Petkar to gain victories. The general attitude of India towards para-sports has considerably changed over recent years, mainly because there's a lot more emphasis on equalizing opportunities and acceptance towards disabled sport athletes. The achievement of Petkar's Arjuna Award would symbolize just that.

Today, Petkar has settled into a peaceful life in retirement at Pune after an excellent professional stint with TELCO. The young son Arjun Murlikant Petkar serves in Indian Army. Besides that, for contributions to paralympics sports, the award of one of India's most prestigious honours, the Padma Shri, 2018 came in his purse too.

When Murlikant Petkar will step out into the public spotlight to receive his Arjuna Award in January 2025, the country will take one moment to reflect on a living legend of the para-sport movement. Through his legacy that inspires millions, he has amply proved, very clearly to everyone, no mountain is hard to climb and conquer if done with courage and determination and by an unrelenting spirit.