*Wheelchair-bound MP swimmer conquers English Channel* · The Times of India (Mumbai edition)
· 26 Jun 2018 · Ramendra.Singh @timesgroup.com Bhopal: Two years ago, he was not allowed to swim in Bhopal’s Upper Lake. On Sunday, Satendra Singh—who is disabled from waist-below—conquered the English Channel, the first person from Madhya Pradesh to do so. The wheelchair-bound champ told TOI on Monday that as he fought choppy waves during the nearly 12-and-a-halfhour swim, there was just one thought on his mind: if he doesn’t make it, his family will be homeless. “You see, I mortgaged my house to arrange Rs 18 lakh for the Channel chal- lenge,” he said from London. “Now, my next challenge is to repay it.” The 30-year-old was part of a swimming team that, for the first time, saw four paraswimmers from India crossing the English Channel, from Dover to Audingham. With a string of medals hanging at his (now mortgaged) home, Satendra truly exemplifies the term ‘specially abled’. He is the first person in the country with 75% disability to complete a 36km Arabian Sea swim. He clocked 5 hours and 43 minutes from Prongs Reef Lighthouse to Elephanta Island in preparation for the English Channel challenge. He recalled the time Bhopal administration ignored his letters for permission to swim in Upper Lake. “I wanted to swim from Vardhman Ghat to Khanugaon, about 3-4km, to test myself. Also, I belong to Madhya Pradesh and I wanted to perform in front of my own people. I wrote to them in 2016 but was turned down,” he told TOI. Asked about this, collector Sudam Khade said he wasn’t in Bhopal in 2016 and couldn’t say why Satendra’s plea was rejected. “Ask the sports department,” he said. The then deputy director of sports, Upendra Jain, told TOI that it doesn’t come in their purview. “My primary objective was to encourage physically-challenged people. I wanted to prove that we can all be supermen or women. Being cold-shouldered only made me more determined,” said Satendra, a government clerk posted in Indore. In 2014, he was presented the Vikram Award by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. But when it came to funds, he found himself alone. A few NGOs helped but it wasn’t enough. “Senior IAS officer P Narhari helped me arrange the money. I will always be thankful to him. But I had to mortgage my house,” he said, adding: “I do not know how and when I will be able to repay the loan. But I tell myself that if I can swim the English Channel, I will find a way for this too.” The swim was gruelling, he said. Midway through the Channel, he realized why his earlier application was rejected in 2017 with the remark that he “wasn’t prepared”. “The temperature of the water was around 12-14 degrees, but my biggest worry was the jellyfish,” he said. “I thought I’d give up, but then images of my family and my mortgaged house flashed before my eyes. I wanted to make India proud but it cost me a lot,” said Satendra. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
