Mumbai, Jan 2 (IANS) The Sports Ministry made some more course corrections and awarded the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) to para-swimmer Murlikant Rajaram Petkar, India’s first gold medallist in the Paralympic Games, conferring on him the prestigious award 52 years after he made history for the country in Heidelberg, Germany.
A soldier with the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) of the Indian Army, when he suffered a debilitating injury that rendered him paraplegic, Petkar won the gold medal in the men’s 50m freestyle swimming in the 1972 Paralympic Games at Heidelberg, Germany, becoming the first Indian to bag an individual gold medal in the Olympics or Paralympic Games.
Petkar, who suffered severe injuries when an army camp in Srinagar came under attack during the 1965 war with Pakistan, set three world records in the course of winning the gold medal but failed to get recognised with the Arjuna Award for excellence in sports for nearly half-a-century as para-sports did not get much recognition in those times.
Now, the 80-year-old Petkar will receive his award from the President of India Droupadi Murmu at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, 2025.
Petkar was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018.
The legendary para-swimmer’s achievements had gone under the radar for decades as para-sports failed to get much recognition from the public and government in those days, and facilities and support were minimal. Despite those hurdles, Petkar went on to win a gold medal.
An all-rounder in sports, having dabbled in multiple events and disciplines before achieving glory in para-swimming, Petkar was aspiring to become the country’s top boxer before he got disabled. He had won a gold medal in boxing at the Military Games in Japan a few months before he got injured and rendered disabled.
Petkar represented India in the Paralympic Games of 1968 and 1972. In the 1968 Paralympic Games in Mexico, he took part in para-table tennis and reached the second round. In 1972, besides swimming, Petkar also participated in javelin throw, precision javelin throw, and slalom and was a finalist in all three events too.
After retiring from TELCO, he is living a retired life in Pune where his son Arjun Murlikant Petkar is employed with the Army.
–IANS
bsk/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
