‘Would have been better to be born in UP or Haryana’: Paralympic athletes who earned India medals say they’ll return Arjuna awards over broken promise of Madhya Pradesh govt job

“This whole issue has been brushed under the carpet. I was promised a government job and Rs 1 crore when Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the chief minister. The promise was for a DSP post. I received Rs 50 lakh, and the job never came. For the past month, I’ve been trying to meet officials, but no one calls me. No one invites me to government events. They only pose with us when we win medals and abandon us in our time of need,” Parmar told The Indian Express.

Born in Sehore, Parmar lost his vision in an electrocution incident in 2009. He used to train as a powerlifter and wrestler at his father’s akhada. Belonging to a middle-class family, his father worked as a taxi driver while his eldest brother was posted as a home guard. His second brother helps with Parmar’s training.

“After I lost my vision, I got into judo training in 2017. At the national level, I won gold and then kept progressing, winning a total of seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals in international events, including the Commonwealth and Asian Games. I was asked to attend events across the state and inspire the youth. How can I do that when I don’t even have money to train? Mentally, I am gutted and can’t inspire confidence in anyone,” Parmar said.

He said he will soon visit the local sports director’s office and hand over his award.

Born in Gwalior, Prachi Yadav (30) was the first paracanoe athlete from the country, participating in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She won the bronze medal in the 2022 Paralympic World Cup, was conferred with the Vikram Award by the MP government in 2020 and the Arjuna Award in 2023.

“It would have been better had I been born in UP or Haryana. I would have got a big achievement and a pension. The government is not doing anything; it is not giving us any job or financial support, so what’s the use of that award?” Yadav told the local media.

MP government officials have not issued a formal reply so far. A government official said, “We will look into their grievances. Rest assured, the state government wants to make MP into an athletic powerhouse and has been building a lot of world-class infrastructure for athletes.”