MUMBAI: India’s paralympians will be participating in the Tokyo2020 Paralympic Games wearing the same playing kit with which the country’s athletes are competing in the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as per a release by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on Sunday.
Blue, white, orange, and green are the dominant colours on the T-shirts, shorts, and the tracksuits. The tracksuit is royal blue, with the right sleeve of its jacket sporting the tricolour – saffron, white, and green – shoulder downwards.
“Under the guidance of (India's Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, our paralympians have been put at the same pedestal as that of our Olympians, and this playing kit is another step in that direction. We have not imported it from any other country, but it is made in India, feels Indian, smells Indian and it has got a great nostalgia about it,” the release quoted PCI president Deepa Malik, as saying.
The ceremonial kits though are a little different than the Olympians, keeping the needs of the differently-abled players in mind. “Para players need to wheel themselves and our amputees need to wear their braces, so the design is a little different keeping the comfort of our para athletes in mind,” Malik added.
Apart from the unveiling of the Tokyo-bound athletes’ kit, Sunday was also important as it marked exactly one month left for the beginning of the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Many state associations along with their players and officials cut cakes, flew balloons and sent their best wishes to the Tokyo-bound para athletes contingent.
This time, a record number of 53 athletes are participating in nine different disciplines. Many of the athletes have not only qualified for the Games, but achieved world records during the trials. Currently, more than 10 para athletes are ranked within top three participants in their event category in the paralympics, which raises medal expectations.
