Petkar, now 77, is a war hero and the winner of India’s first-ever Paralympics gold medal. He won the gold in the 50m freestyle (swimming) in 1972 in Heidelberg, Germany with a then world record time. And that after he had sustained multiple bullet wounds, nine to be precise, in the 1965 India-Pakistan war. That he was still alive was a miracle. But he did not give up and went on to win multiple international medals thereafter to make his feat one of the greatest ever achievements in the history of Indian sport.
Yet, very few know about him. Maybe with Kabir Khan now working on a biopic of Petkar with Kartik Aaryan in the lead, things will change. Like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag made Milkha Singh a household name to the current generation. Singh’s exploits in the 1960 Rome Olympics, which the film revisits and helps contextualise, have been restored to their rightful place in the public imagination. Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De!
India did the same. Entwining a tale about nationalism with a narrative concerning the neglected state of Indian women’s hockey, Chak De!
India brought a known story of indifference and discrimination to light. It helped illuminate how Indian women’s sport remains trapped within traditional gender stereotypes.
But publicity or being famous don’t matter to Petkar. “I wanted to do something for my country. If my efforts helped the tricolour go up, there can be no greater publicity or recognition.I am glad a film is being made and more people will know my story. But it will be of real significance if future generations of para-athletes feel inspired seeing it and step up to make India proud,” he said.Petkar was in between meetings when this interaction happened at his home in Pune. He had his India blazer on and the cabinet in the background had all his medals displayed.
“I look back at the gold medal with a lot of pride. The year before I had won gold at the Commonwealth level in Edinburgh and was confident of doing well at the Heidelberg Paralympics. In India, sport for the handicapped or the disabled wasn’t much known then and it wasn’t easy.
It involved a huge amount of hard work and it was all about passion and determination to not give up. The will to do something for the country helped me I think.”
Nine bullets could not stop him. “There was never an option to give up. When I was injured, they first took me to a hospital in Jammu & Kashmir at a very critical time and from there I was moved to a hospital in Mumbai. I was there for months. A lot of the people who tended to me in Mumbai had played sport and knew about physiotherapy. It was because of them that I was able to make a comeback. I remember them taking me on a wheelchair to a swimming pool a mile away and that’s how I started swimming again after the accident. I wanted to start sport because it was a means to get back to an active life. A means to survive, to do something worthwhile.”
Did he feel scared? “The day you sign up for the army you forget about fear,” Petkar said. “Fear has no place in a soldier’s life. No, I never felt any fear. I wanted to fight for my country and do something that I could be proud of. My only option was to move to sport and do something outstanding. That’s what I did.” Petkar is happy to see that para-athletes are treated well these days.
“I am absolutely delighted with how India is looking after its para-athletes at the moment. I have been told that our team stands to win 100-plus medals at the Asian Para Games in China and I wish each and every one participating a very successful games. I am sure with all the support they now get, they will be able to make the country proud and have the best Games ever,” he said.
