No leave, no training but win us a Gold medal: Woes of Paralympic athlete from State
- The lone athlete selected from State to participate in Paralympics 2017 at London, starting July 14, is not sanctioned leave for training
- The KCSR does not include Paralympics in its list to provide leave and other facilities to athletes selected
- Javelin throw athlete R T Prasanna Kumar from Chitradurga had no problem qualifying but is facing hurdles Sports Department
FollowIn a typical case of the athletes being ignored and officials taking all the limelight, R T Prasanna Kumar, a differently-abled Javelin Throw athlete from Kondlahalli, Molakalmuru taluk, Chitradurga district, has qualified to participate in the Paralympics 2017 at London, starting July 14 but is denied all facilities, including leave to practice or attend the professional coaching at SAI.
He is unable even to attend the coaching camp, being held at Sports Authority of India complex, Bengaluru, which is absolutely essential for any international championship. From India 33 sportspersons are selected and Prasanna Kumar is the lone athlete selected from Karnataka State. Yet, he is denied basic encouragement.
Prasanna Kumar works as Education Facilitator at the Public Education Department, Molakalmuru. In 2016 also he was selected for Paralympics at Rio and his superiors denied him leave with pay to train and even to go to Rio. All his appeal to the Commissioner, Education Department and Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka went unheeded. Finally through a friend, he met and appealed to Malleswaram MLA Ashwath Narayana, who mentioned that at the Assembly Session, finally the Sports Minister Pramod Madhwaraj writing to the officials stating that Prasanna Kumar’s case was a special case and hence leave with salary to be sanctioned.
This time again Prasanna Kumar has qualified for the London Paralympics and once again it is the same hurdle. The officials say that the Karnataka Civil Service Rules (KCSR) does not include Paralympics in the list of sports for which leave with pay can be sanctioned.
The Sports Department officials are no negligent about this that they ask the athletes to take the necessary action to get Paralympics included in the list!
A disillusioned Prasanna Kumar says “After I got the Gold Medal in the national Para athletics championships in 2002, I participated in the 2002 Asian Games and won Silver. I was selected for Paralympics in Athens in 2004. I was not able to go due to the same problem. Then I got dejected. But after seeing Girish win a medal at High Jump in 2012, I once again started practicing and in 2013 I won the Gold Medal at the national Para athletics meet. In 2016 I participated in Rio but was denied professional training. Now I have qualified again for London Paralympics. But the problems remain the same. How can I win gold for my country if I am not even sanctioned leave or allowed to get professional coaching?” Prasanna Kumar asks helplessly.
