Arshad Shaikh has had enough. The aggrieved para cyclist has vowed to retire after the Paris Paralympic Games 2024. Reason? Not having a permanent job and an alleged discrimination against him and other para athletes. (More Sports News)
"I don't want to continue after the Paris Paralympics," Shaikh told Outlook. "I have been in sports for the last 20 years but the discrimination and false promises have forced me to take this decision," he said.
Shaikh and Jyoti Gaderiya are the only two Indian athletes to have qualified for the Paralympics 2024 in para cycling. A private foundation is helping both of them with equipment, accommodation and other facilities.
The 31-year-old Shaikh hails from Andhra Pradesh and claims to have been promised a job by the then chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. But the athlete says his file was sent back on the grounds that cycling is there in the list but not para cycling.
"A person with two hands and two legs will get everything, but not a para athlete?" asked Shaikh. "There is no policy for para athletes in Andhra and Telangana and if the situation remains the same, many others will also leave their respective sport," he asserted.
Shaikh recalled how he once stood for three hours just to request for access to the training facilities in a velodrome. For many promising cyclists like Shaikh, getting a run at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex (SAI) in New Delhi remains a luxury.
Shaikh will compete in four events in para cycling at the Paris Paralympics, i.e., Road - Men’s C2 Individual Time Trial, Road - Men’s C1-3 Road Race, Track - Men’s C1-3 1000m Time Trial and Track - Men’s C2 3000m Individual Pursuit.
India's cyclists have qualified for the Paralympics after 64 whole years. Gaderiya and Shaikh will make historic debuts at the Paris Games.
When asked about the pressure of being the only male athlete in the para cycling team and expectations from him, Shaikh was confident about his training and added that he had not missed any practice sessions in the last six years.
"The preparations are going well, I am confident of my practice and the efforts I have put in," he said. "I am competing in road and track events, and am very hopeful of winning medals for India."
Even though Shaikh feels hard done by discrimination and apathy, he made sure to mention that he was not complaining, but only requesting the government to start treating para athletes the same way as other athletes.
