Shah Rukh Khan gives a boost to India’s Para athletes
Failures are inevitable but we shouldn’t let them overpower our will to rise again and again. Just like the story in Chakde India, King Khan taught us that in real life, supporting and making space for those who have come out of their comfort zones to rise above challenges is important.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) with the head of Meer Foundation and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, on Wednesday gave a send-off to the paralympic athletes ahead of the third Asian Para Games slated to be held from October 6 to 13.
He aspired to serve the army and then moved on to hoping to be part of sports and represent India at the international forefront. King Khan who heads the Meer foundation that supports the para-athletes, had a selfish motive to come and greet the athletes. He said, “My motivation of coming here is very selfish, I used to play sports when I was child. I got hurt one day and after that I was stuck at home for over a year. I thought my life is over but when I see these players I get inspired. I have come to take inspiration and thank these para-athletes for motivating me.”
Among many of the athletes, Deepa Malik, Devendra Jhajharia, Mariappan Thangavelu, Varun Bhati were present at the event. Deepa, who became the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games by clinching the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in Shot Put, expressed her gratitude to the actor for associating himself with the games.
“When an athlete wins a medal it’s not just his/her medal it’s the entire country’s. I am thankful to Shah Rukh for coming today because whatever he associates with gets more traction. His association with us will increase awareness about the games,” she said.
While in the Rio Olympics 2016, India was not able to win any gold medals and “the entire country was sad,” said Rao Inderjit Singh, president, PCI. It was during that time these para athletes took it upon themselves to hold up the Indian flag. “And we did work it out a great way. We got four medals including two gold ones. Two of our athletes even broke the world records,” said he.