Silver in London, Gold in Rio: Nothing less will do for HN Girisha

Great news makes waking up really early in the morning quite worthwhile. Like yesterday. I was groggily moving the screen of an Indian news site on my Ipad, when hidden obscurely in the sport section was this: India won its first silver medal at the Paralympics. Hosanagara Nagarajagowda Girisha won the silver medal in the High Jump. Brilliant!

Next minute, I grabbed the phone, called the Paralympic committee in India, spoke to Girisha’s coach Satyam and fixed up an interview for 4:30 pm. When I finally met Girisha at 6 pm, as the Indian media descended in hordes (probably after a congratulatory tweet from Ajay Maken, the sports minister and Narendra Modi), he was still managing a smile, still signing autographs and politely declining India badges as he did not have any.

As we settle down for a nice Indian cuppa, Samosa and Pakora, he warns me that his English is not great. ‘I can understand everything you are saying, but I am not able to speak very well. I am just now learning English.’ I think he is doing great and tell him so. ‘Really a? ‘, he looks pleased.

‘You know, last night when I saw the India flag going up, because of me, I am feeling very proud’, he starts. So you should be, Girisha, you should be! You made a whole nation proud and your achievements will change perceptions and attitude towards ‘disability’.  It will perhaps spur on many young people with disabilities to realize what they are capable of, what they can do. He hopes so too!

Girisha tells me he first realized that he could jump when he was six. Born with a left leg impairment, he won the first place at a school competition in his village in Hasan district (Karnataka), competing against fully fit kids. Since that day, he set his eyes on the bar. Both his parents are small farmers and so growing up was not very easy, financially, and definitely not, if you are born with an impairment. ‘It is difficult, but I know I wanted to do it. A lot of people helped me. If you want to do something, you will find people to help you.’

The one common thread I have noticed, having spoken to and read about athletes from small nations and challenging circumstances is that they never seem to dwell too much on their challenges. They focus on the opportunities that they have got, are grateful, and make full use of them. That is a big lesson for me, for all of us!

Girisha acknowledges the support of the principal of his college and his PE Teacher in rural Karnataka who recognized his talent and motivated him to participate at the National Games in Bangalore in 2006. He was seventeen and had never been to Bangalore or any other city for that matter. Since then, he has won consistently at the Para National games. I ask him what support did he get in those days that he was struggling to burst into the national stage. He politely but convincingly tells me that support comes in many forms. Not just monetary. Had his college not egged him on to participate in the National Games, his talent would have languished in his village. And he is grateful for that.

He knows that his moment of glory is not his alone. He tells me how Samarthanam Trust, a charity, helped him train for a BPO job, which helped him secure one with ING VYSYA Bank. The Bank, in turn sponsored his training and expenditure for the qualifying championships for the London Paralympics in Kuwait earlier this year. And then, he cannot emphasize enough the support provided by the Indian Paralympic Committee and The Government of India and Karnataka. We all like to diss the government for not doing enough for our athletes. A large part of it is true, but credit where credit is due!

What makes his silver medal more spectacular is that it comes at his second International outing. Yes, that’s right! His only other international championships were in Kuwait and Malaysia this year. This young man performed when it mattered the most, on the biggest stage that he could possibly get!

So was he nervous? ‘I am very scared before my first jump. But after that, I felt better. My best jump before this was 1.60m. Yesterday, I jumped 1.74, which is a new Personal Best (PB) for me.’ So how did he do it?  ‘The crowd’, he says. ‘The crowd were cheering so much that I did not realize I jumped 1.74m. And the good weather supported me’. London crowds are amazing, he tells me.

Girisha jumped ahead of the Polish favourite Lukasz Mamczarz whose PB was 1.80m. So how does he keep track of International benchmarks? ‘Internet’, he says. ‘I surf the net and read a lot on IPC website and so I know the athletes’ performances.’ Quite cool!

He trains under his coach Satyanarayana, who he met earlier this year and Nikitin of Ukraine at the Sports Authority of India(SAI) facilities in Bangalore. ‘Are they world class?’ I ask. ‘Not entirely, but very good’, he says. That’s heartening to know!

One thing Girisha is confident his medal will do is throw spotlight on Paralympics athletes. The same amount of prize money declared by the sports minister Ajay Maken ( 30 Lacs) as the Olympics winners is a great step forward. ‘India is a big country, yet only 10 athletes participate. Why? Good question, Girisha! ‘Look at China. They send 300 athletes. Small countries send more athletes than us. I want to see more athletes from India in Rio.’ Why don’t you convey this to the sports minister, when he comes to meet you at the athletes village tomorrow? Some of us can tweet, write, campaign. Make your dream come true!

While we are sipping in some hot Chai, an old man stops in his tracks and asks Girisha: India? Since he is too modest to say, I inform him that he is the silver medalist. ‘Oh yes, High Jump! We saw you last night. I am a Ugandan of Indian origin and you make me proud’. Girisha cannot stop beaming.

He is overwhelmed by all the support and congratulatory messages pouring in. He shows me some on his phone with a mix of pride and disbelief. He has slept only two hours since he won the medal, partly due to excitement and partly because of the media duties. Just as he is telling me this, a reporter from a big news channel in India interrupts us, with what looks like a tripod and what definitely seems an entitlement hung around his shoulder.

‘Are you finished with him? cos I am worried about the light.’ Well, why did you not drag yourself earlier then? What did you expect at 6:45 pm on a September’s day? That the sun will wait upon you, just because you are ABCD 48*4. I decided to be generous and continue my interview after the filming. After all, how long would that take?

Only a couple of hours, if you are a self-obsessed, care-a-damn-for-others, sort of a pushy ‘reporter’( sorry, I use that word very generously, for if you are one, you would report, for which you’ll have to listen and not worry about the frickin’ camera), who is ignorant of the principles of light. After making Girisha pose with the Jamaicans and all other nationalities that passed by, the reporter realized he may have lost light and decided to shift the filming process under the incandescent light. Hallelujah! Did you not attend any refresher course at all?

And if you are somebody who is rubbish at reading people’s faces, then at least you surely can read people’s lips? Well, Girisha’s were saying I AM TIRED. All these on deaf ears. And so if you thought our government cares a damn for our athletes, wait till you see our media, especially the electronic ones.

I feel the need to intervene and tell the coach that this is ridiculous. The coach says that this is necessary as it brings the athletes and Paralympics into the spotlight. He has a point. But should an athlete be subjected to this? Is this the media or mafia? Give us footage or we won’t feature you? Preposterous!

Finally, when the reporter had got his footage, and decided to let him off the hook, Girisha is on the verge of collapse. He apologizes to me ( as he repeatedly does during his hijack) and asks me if I could meet him tomorrow and we could speak in peace. I think he should rest and it was my pleasure entirely to have met and chatted with him. As we were parting, I ask him what next? What does he aspire for? Pat comes the reply, “Gold in Rio. Nothing less.”

The whole nation is right behind you Girisha! Aren’t we?

       (This photograph is courtesy the same reporter as my camera conked off at the right moment. Thanks Mr.Reporter)