Arjuna Awardee
Suyash Narayan Jadhav
Arjuna Awardee Para Swimmer, Suyash Narayan Jadhav, has become the first Indian to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He is the first Indian swimmer to qualify for either the Olympics or Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020.
Suyash will compete in the 50m Butterfly of the S-7 category as well as the 200m Individual Medley in the SM-7 group in Tokyo. The 27-year-old from Maharashtra qualified for the Paralympics based on his performance at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.
The Rough Patch and Rise
His passion for the sport came from his father, who himself is a national-level swimmer. He was his first teacher who started teaching him swimming at the age of 2. When he was 11 years old, he met with a terrible accident when he got electrocuted and got severely injured. The injury was so serious, his hands had to be amputated.
Suyash, on the other hand, did not let this experience ruin his ambitions of following in his father’s footsteps who was a National-level swimmer himself. “I am glad that my disability has allowed me to compete at the highest level. The disability has turned my life for the better,” an optimistic Jadhav said in an interview.
Suyash’s life was transformed again as he became the only Indian para swimmer to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. In Rio, he competed in the S7 category, posting personal best timings in two of his three events, and placed ninth (50m butterfly), ninth (50m freestyle), and tenth (200m IM) overall.
Suyash will be one of India’s medal contenders at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo if he improves his preparation and training. Jadhav came to the highest platform in his sport four years ago, competing in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Next year, he wants to do more than merely compete, with his sights set on capturing a medal in Tokyo.
He always stresses the fact that giving a consistent performance is a tough task, as he is from a rural area where sports is not given much importance, but his father always supported him, as well as his dreams.
“When we perform at state, national and international levels, it becomes our dream to get a sports award. I am delighted that I am receiving the Arjuna Award. I feel that the dream of my father, who is a swimmer himself, is getting fulfilled,” Jadhav said in an interview when asked about his experience of getting the Arjuna Award.
Recent Status
Suyash aims to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. If successful, it will be India’s first Paralympic medal in Para-Swimming since Muralikant Petkar in 1972.
Suyash is now training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facilities in Balewadi and hopes to arrive in Tokyo by mid-August to complete the obligatory quarantine period and adapt to the conditions in Japan.