How India's para athletes navigate challenging conditions to train for sports

Before Ajay name changed to protect privacy met with an accident and suffered a devastating spinal cord injury that left him unable to use his legs he used to love playing cricket Then he discovered a local team that meets every week to play cricket on wheelchairs in Santacruz Last year he built up the courage to join the Mumbai Wheelchair Cricket Team and it was like a portion of his former life and joy had been returned to himIt didnrsquot last very long Ajayrsquos spinal cord injury also took away his ability to sweat which makes it impossible to regulate body temperature naturally Itrsquos not such a problem in winter months but this year Mumbai experienced heatwaves as early as February and March with temperatures soaring upwards of 36degCThe Mumbai wheelchair cricket team trains under the cityrsquos blistering sun until noon at Mumbai Universityrsquos ground at Kalina They splash themselves with water regularly to beat the heat PicsAtul KambleWhatrsquos worse therersquos not a single indoor court in the city thatrsquos accessible to para athletes forcing those most vulnerable to heat to train under the full force of the Mumbai sun and humidity Last month Ajay quit wheelchair cricket ldquoI was overheating and getting breathless I felt extreme fatigue my blood pressure plummeted and Irsquod black outrdquo he tells usAjayrsquos struggle is the story of every disabled athlete in the city particularly those with spinal cord injuries In 2024 India achieved its bestever Paralympic performance in Paris winning 29 medals seven Gold And yet therersquos no telling how many para athletes mdash and wouldbe medal winners mdash have quietly given up because basic needs werenrsquot provided forSomething as simple as being able to play in shade could keep more of them in play Other states like Madhya Pradesh Tamil Nadu Odisha and more have made these simple provisions for their disabled athletes so why canrsquot Maharashtra do the same for para athletes in Mumbai mdash the capital of Maharashtra and financial capital of IndiaIndian wheelchair rugby team makes history in BaliBhavesh Trivedi a national wheelchair rugby player recalls how his team trained in full sun and heat before bagging Indiarsquos first medal in the sportWhen we speak to Bhavesh Trivedi on Friday hersquos just returned from Bali Indonesia where his team has created history by winning their maiden international medal mdash a bronze mdash at the World Wheelchair Rugby Asian Regional Championship 2026 on March 30 With this the team now has strong chances to progress to the Nagoya 2026 Asian Para GamesThe path to their podium finish has not been easy though They have been training outdoors on kaccha grounds the worst possible conditions for a highimpact sport that was originally called murderball ldquoIt is one of the most brutal para sportsrdquo says the Andheri resident whose spinal cord injury left him quadriplegic ldquoItrsquos a fullcontact highspeed game where players are always at the edge of their seatrdquoBhavesh Trivedi and a friend train at a skate park under a flyover at Magathane Borivli East on Saturday PicSatej ShindeItrsquos meant to be played indoors on a hardwood basketball court so players are protected from the sun and injury ldquoOur wheelchairs are specialised and are expensive Rs 80000 made in Thailand When we use them on uneven grounds they get damaged and we get hurtrdquo he saysOf late they have started training at a skate park under a flyover in Borivli East Itrsquos shaded and the floor is smooth but the dust and ambient heat are not ideal Unable to regulate their body temperature players play in the morning and evening when its cooler and spray themselves with water to simulate sweatTrivedi is also a marathoner ldquoDespite lacking finger control I push my 20kg wheelchair So I heat up quickly If you were to touch me yoursquod think I have high fever 102 to 103degFrdquo he says ldquoI also have to be very careful how much water I drink because quadriplegics donrsquot have proper control on bladder or bowel and wheelchairaccessible public bathrooms are rarerdquoldquoAll these things restrict how often and how long we can trainrdquo he says adding ldquoAnd that has a mental impact too at international competitions we look at other countries with better facilities and wonder how we can match uprdquo In Bali they fought yet more odds ldquoWe had to arrange our own funding to go there There too we discovered wersquod have to play outdoors in heat and humidity Despite this we secured third placerdquoldquoMumbai is the financial capital of India How come we donrsquot have basic facilities Other countries even have indoor facilities with paraathletic coaching and shower facilities to cool down the body quicklyrdquo he rues Life as a disabled person is hard enough sports is a way to assert their physical autonomy and prowess ldquoNot getting even basic support breaks our spirit completelyrdquolsquoNeed AC courts in Mumbairsquos garmirsquoDr Manish Rana director of sports development amp performance at the Paralympic Committee of India says the local authorities must developHeat has become a major challenge for para sports in India says Dr Manish Rana a musculoskeletal physiotherapist and Director of sports development amp performance at the Paralympic Committee of IndiaDr Manish RanaldquoAt the recent national tournament a blade runnerrsquos prosthetic came out because of excess sweatrdquo he recalls adding ldquoLast year when the World Para Athletics Championships were held in India for the very first time in Delhi we faced unprecedented heat We had to order 1000 kg of ice every day to help the players cool downrdquo Plain indoor courts are not enough he says ldquothey need to be air conditioned so that temperature is regulated In humid cities like Mumbai I canrsquot imagine players training at 3540 degrees CelsiusrdquoHe cites facilities in Pune and Gwalior as examples of strides made in para athletics support in India Because of this every year we are seeing about 20 per cent increase of athletes entering the national system ldquoBut even I havenrsquot heard of such a facility in Mumbairdquo he admits ldquoItrsquos weird when you think about it Mumbai has everything why not this The state government and local bodies must develop performance centres to support para athletesrdquoStifling at 102degF with no AC or fanNeetu Mehta a national wheelchair fencing athlete says even indoor competitions are uncomfortableSome sports like wheelchair fencing are practised indoors but that doesnrsquot necessarily mean the conditions are better ldquoForget air conditioning there is often no fan in the training rooms Even at national matches the coolers are so far away that we canrsquot feel any reliefrdquo says Neetu Mehta a nationallevel player from Mumbai who is a polio survivorNeetu Mehta says wheelchair fencing is hard enough but no ventilation in the room and the thick protective gear makes it even harderWhat makes it worse is the thick protective layers they have to wear for competition ldquoTherersquos a tshirt the chest guard and an electronic jacket which senses contact with the fencing foil We also have to wear a face guard Itrsquos stifling in the heatrdquo says MehtaResearchers in the UK found in 2024 that body temperature can rise to 102degF during fencing bouts With heat and sweat trapped under the layers Mehta often suffers from heat rash and dizziness ldquoWe canrsquot drink too much water either because just putting on and taking off the gear takes 1520 minutes and we canrsquot leave the competition to use the loordquo she saysEven moderate heat is risky DocldquoSweating is not a luxury mdash itrsquos a lifepreserving mechanismrdquo says Dr Mazda K Turel consultant neurosurgeon Wockhardt Hospitals Mumbai Central ldquoIt helps dissipate heat through evaporative cooling Itrsquos controlled by the autonomic nervous system ANS Spinal cord injury interrupts these ANS signals from the brain to the sweat glands below the level of injury resulting in no sweat there Additionally loss of vasodilation and reduced muscle pump below the injury further impair heat dissipationrdquoDr Mazda TurelldquoTraining outdoors without shade can be risky even for healthy athletes whose thermoregulation is intact sometimes leading to heat exhaustion or heat stroke With spinal cord injury the increase in risk is exponential mdash especially in cervical or high thoracic injuries T6 and above For them even moderate heat exposure can become dangerous These athletes overheat faster recognise the warning signs later and recover slowerrdquoldquoWorst case progression can include cardiovascular strain tachycardia reduced cerebral perfusion blood supply to brain nervous system dysfunction multiorgan failure muscle breakdown and death if not rapidly cooled downrdquolsquoNeed a residential sports facility for pro para athletesrsquoShams Aalam a para swimmer from Dharavi drags his wheelchair 15 km to and from the pool every dayShams Aalam spends hours every day training for nationallevel para swimming competitions And while being in water makes up for his inability to sweat outside the pool he faces the same kind of problems only exacerbated by intersectional challengesShams Aalam spends hours training with little support from the authoritiesldquoI go to practice at 7 am but by the time I am done at 11 am it is sunny Most pools are outdoors so I am already lightheaded from the sun exposure Then I have to propel my wheelchair 15 km home to Dharavi Autos canrsquot accommodate wheelchairs and I canrsquot afford cabs every dayrdquo he says adding that many para athletes he trains with also have financial restrictions Many make food deliveries on threewheelers to financially support their trainingAalamrsquos spinal cord injury has also led to thinning of his skin and driving the wheelchair for long distances causes rashes and injury ldquoWe also have to do strength training but most AC gyms canrsquot accommodate wheelchairsrdquo he says adding ldquoNone of this would be a problem if we had a residential sports complex for disabled players like abroadrdquo he sayslsquoNetas sports centres turned a deaf ear to pleasrsquoRahul Ramugade Captain of the Mumbai wheelchair cricket team says they are tired of fighting the oddsMumbairsquos wheelchair cricket team has been playing tournaments at national level for five years despite roadblocks along the way Between 2018 and 2022 the team had an informal understanding with Mumbai University that allowed them to train at indoor and outdoor courts at the Kalina campusRahul RamugadeldquoThen suddenly they issued a letter alleging that our wheelchairs were ruining the flooringrdquo says Rahul Ramugade ldquoThis is not truerdquo The university still allows the team to train at the outdoor ground but that is an informal arrangementldquoWe are restricted to training in the morning before it gets hot But one player with spinal cord injury has quit because of this and others too are suffering from heatrelated issues such as rashesrdquo says the Captain whose legs have been affected by polio ldquoWe have appealed to politicians and even to sports centres with indoor courts to no availrdquoLiladhar Bansod the PR head at MU told Sunday midday ldquoWheelchair casters exert significantly higher point load concentrations and rapid wheel pivots and braking can create friction hotspots Our maintenance staff observed surface burns and varnish removal which compromise both performance and player safety The hall is already scheduled for comprehensive resurfacing and maintenance in the upcoming academic yearrdquoWith the few hours they get to train the Mumbai team is now preparing for the selection camp for the national team on which Ramugade is also a player That camp is to be held in May in full summer ldquoEven for that we had to wait till all other sports went on break for the summer so that we could get a ground for the selection camprdquo he rues84No of Indian participants in the 2024 ParalympicsRisks of overheatinggtgt thinspDehydrationgtgt thinspRespiratory and cardiac distressgtgt thinspHeat stroke core temp above 40ndash41degCgtgt thinspCentral nervous system dysfunction confusion delirium collapsegtgt thinspMultiorgan failuregtgt thinspDeath if not rapidly cooled