Asian Teams

All-rounder proves the magic of sport

By Sun Xiaochen (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-14 09:54

Indian multi-sports star Satya Prakash Tiwari (right) poses with badminton teammates inside the welcome center at the Athletes' Village. [Photo by Sun Xiaochen / China Daily]

GUANGZHOU - Writing stories about Satya Prakash Tiwari, an Indian athlete with leg disabilities, is a tough job for a reporter.

It is hard to decide whether he is a runner, a paddler or a badminton player because he has a dazzling record in several para sports events. He will impress anyone who sees him perform in his wheelchair in one sport then flit to another venue for a different game.

"At the beginning, I could barely drive my wheelchair to sprint on straight tracks. But soon I realized that was not enough. Running in the wheelchair was an everyday thing for me. I wanted to be challenged more than that," said Tiwari, who will take part in the men's W2 wheelchair badminton competition at the Guangzhou Asian Para Games.

Inspired to seek dignity and respect through sport when he was young, Tiwari tested his potential in almost every event a wheelchair user could enter.

The Indian has taken part in the 2.5km wheelchair event of the Bombay Marathon every year since 2005. In 2002, he won an unexpected silver medal in the shot put at the 2002 World Athletics Championships (for the disabled) in Belgium.

"I benefited from sport's magic through athletics. Although I lost my legs, I find what I can do on the sports ground is far beyond my imagination. That's a big motivation for us disabled people," Tiwari said.

"I maintain my confidence and refresh my life by taking on challenges in various sports."

Past the best age for most athletics events, 44-year-old Tiwari concedes that athletics, which demands a lot physically, is no longer the best choice for him.

After badminton was introduced to India in 2001, Tiwari decided to take it up.

The first time he saw amputee athletes play badminton in wheelchairs, the daring Indian decided to join them on court. In no time, the event brought him the most memorable moment of his para sports career.

Two years after Tiwari won third place in the doubles at the inaugural Asian wheelchair badminton championships in 2004, he won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2006 Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled, the biggest multi-sports games for the disabled in Asia, which has now been replaced by the Asian Para Games.

Tiwari's talents in racquet sports continued when he delivered a bronze medal at the 2005 World Disabled Table Tennis Championship.

"Thanks to the skills in controlling the wheelchair I'd learnt from athletics training, I could move smoothly and smartly on the court. And it's crucial to play the amputees' racquet sports games," Tiwari said.

His sports career has improved his confidence and self-reliance. Away from sports, Tiwari runs a photocopying shop in Mumbai with some friends. But the fame sport has brought him means he could attract enough business on his own to earn a good living without others' help.

"Sports have changed my life," Tiwari said. "They have helped me hold my head high and become a positive person. I've been reborn through sports."

China Daily