As a catalyst to the cause of empowering India's sports talent, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has partnered with the GoSports Foundation to identify and support Indian para-athletes across multiple Paralympic disciplines.
The support covers high performance training, travel and competition needs, nutritional counselling, fitness and injury management, rehabilitation, physiotherapy and strength training.
The eleven para-champions who will aspire to make India proud at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games are:
Devendra Jhajharia (Javelin Throw) - Paralympic Games Gold medalist, World Record Holder & Padmashree Awardee
Narender Ranbir (Javelin Throw) - Paralympian and Asian Para Games medalist
Amit Saroha (Club Throw) - Paralympian and Asian Para Games medalist
Suyash Jadhav (Swimming) - Only Indian Para swimmer to qualify for Rio 2016
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Ankur Dhama (1500m) - Asian Para Games medalist
Varun Bhati (High Jump) - World No. 2
Rampal Chahar (High Jump) - World No. 6
Deepa Malik (Shot Put) - Asian Para Games medalist and Arjuna Awardee
Dharambir (Club Throw) - Qualified Paralympian at 2016 Athletics Grand Prix, Dubai
Pooja (Archery)- 2016 Para National Archery Championship medalist and World No. 5 at 2016 World Ranking Archery Tournament
Rinku (Javelin Throw) - Qualified Paralympian at 2016 IPC Athletics Grand Prix, Switzerland
NP Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India, said, "Sport is a terrific medium of empowerment and as responsible sports broadcasters; our long term vision is to improve the sports narrative in India. The para athlete's achievements are incredible and humbling and we are happy to facilitate their ability to compete on the international stage. Sony Pictures Networks is proud to take up the social responsibility of empowering India's talented sportspersons through such associations."
Smriti K. Singh, CHRO, Sony Pictures Networks India, said, "There is a dire need for support of differently-abled sports in India. It is largely through their own resilience that these athletes are creating a better quality of life for themselves and their families. While the will to excel is true of any sportsperson, the differently-abled are also fighting the social stigma associated with their disability. However, through sport, they have established that they are winners not just in their sport but also in life. We want to give life to their stories, as recognition for their efforts, inspiration to others and hopefully influence policy makers."
Deepthi Bopiah, Executive Director, GoSports, said "Sony Pictures Networks is visionary in understanding the importance of developing sporting talent in India and within that, developing differently abled sports because of the larger challenges that these athletes face. It is a little known fact that India's first Olympic gold medal in an individual sport, was actually won by one of our para athletes Devendra Jhajharia, an amputee, for Javelin throw and his world record is unbeaten even today. SPN's support enables us to offer such athletes better sports facilities."
Ek India Happywala is the CSR theme under the aegis of which SPN runs its CSR programme. Ek India Happywala focusses on creating a positive impact in our ecosystem and it built around the 3 pillars; empowerment, education and environment.
As per the government census report of 2011, over 2.68 crore individuals in India suffer from disability. This accounts for 2.21 percent of the country's population
These individuals face many challenges ranging from:
Limited disabled friendly infrastructure and facilities
In-equal treatment
Social stigmas
Reduced participation in society
Low self-confidence / Inferiority complex & therefore an overall unsatisfactory quality of life.