Meet Manikandan Kumar, one of India's unsung Indian sporting heroes

Each year 29 August is “celebrated” as National Sports Day in India to mark the birthday of India’s first international sports star – Dhyan Chand. For those unaware (which includes 99 percent of the population), it is a day to celebrate and promote sports in the country. However in the current scenario I think it will be more apt to celebrate this day on the lines of a “memorial day” – a day to remember all the millions of young talented Indian boys and girls whose sporting careers were cut short by a combination of nepotism, corruption or general apathy. Each one of us probably knows at least one person who had the talent to become a world beater in their discipline but the Indian sports ecosystem crushed them. One such story is of Manikandan Kumar, India’s only para-climbing world champion. [caption id=“attachment_1695689” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Manikandan Kumar. AFP[/caption] Manikandan a resident of Srirampuram, Bangalore comes from a very modest background. His father is a carpenter and his mother rolls agarbattis to make ends meet. The family income on most days is about Rs 100. But poverty was not the only handicap Manikandan had to overcome. At age five, Mani was diagnosed with polio in his right leg. As the popular saying goes, every dark cloud has a silver lining. The disease introduced Mani to his first love. In 2002, at age 15, Manikandan went for an adventure camp for the disabled. This is where he saw wall climbing for the first time. He felt an instant attraction towards the sport. Possibly because unlike his poverty or disease here was an opponent he could overcome. The love was so intense that Manikandan decided that he wanted it to last a lifetime – he wanted to become a professional climber, much to his parents’ disappointment. In a country where a majority of sportspersons struggle to make ends meet Manikandan’s decision both shocked and angered his parents. They wanted him to “live a respectable life” and become a mechanic. Yet Manikandan was so spellbound by the sport that he spent all his time at the wall. Along the way he found a guardian angel in the form of Keerthi Pais, the national coach, who took him under his wing and gave him a job in his adventure company. Manikandan started running camps and training beginners while simultaneously focusing on getting better. And better he did become. In 2012, he won a gold medal in the IFSC Paraclimbing World Championship, held in the Bercy stadium in Paris. For most athletes this would be the turning point in their careers, recognition would come which would bring with it sponsors. But Indian sports works a little differently. The world may recognize your greatness but back home most people remain oblivious. Manikandan is still without a permanent sponsor. He still makes ends meet through his coaching assignments. He still needs funding from well wishers to help him travel to tournaments. And his parents still remain oblivious to the champion who stays with them. While his story is inspiring “a man who fought all odds to achieve his dream” it is also very tragic. The optimist in me seriously hopes that in this case “Picture abhi baki hai.”Maybe somebody will come forward and support this champion. I really want a happy ending for this story. Post script: Manikandan will be in Gijon, Spain from 8th to 14th September, 2014 competing at the 2014 IFSC World Climbing Championships. Most of the money he needed to fund this trip was donated by well wishers.