[Monday Motivation] Meet para athlete Sachin Chamaria who has made India proud at an international level

Sachin Chamaria from Delhi met with a road accident at the age of seventeen while holidaying in Kolkata in 2008. The accident left him paralysed from neck down, involving all four limbs, including the bowel bladder.

But Sachin did not let his handicap deter him or slow him down from achieving his dreams. After the accident, the shock of never being able to walk again did not bring him down.

“It is about accepting reality. When you come across a situation or a problem, if you do not accept it, then you won't be able to find the solutions to it. So, the first thing I did was I accepted that this happened and it is not going to change. I then started working on how to overcome it,” says Sachin.

After a few years, Sachin started working on physical training to gain movements in his limbs. It’s been 14 years since he has been wheelchair-bound. Even today, he needs the assistance of a wheelchair and caretakers in order to move around and do his daily chores. He does therapy daily and believes he is recovering from it daily - one way or the other.

Today, the 31-year-old has represented India in Boccia - a game that is played by differently-abled people.

He also runs his own company named Growealth Capital through which he trades in the stock market.

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Love for sports

While growing up, Sachin was always interested in sports. Before the accident, Sachin used to train in martial arts -- in taekwondo, and often played cricket and football. He was a National-level taekwondo champion, representing India at international events.

Although the incident stopped him from pursuing this discipline further, it didn’t stop Sachin from fulfilling his dreams of becoming an athlete.

His love for sports drove him towards exploring other sports designed for the differently-abled athletes. He started looking for the sports he can participate in, and in 2015 and 2016, he played sports such as club throw and discus throw.

“But after a year and a half, I realised I wouldn’t be able to make it to the Paralympics this way,” he recalls.

In 2021, one of Sachin’s physiotherapists introduced him to Boccia, a precision ball game. Since then, there was no turning back. “Boccia has given me a purpose - something to aim for and achieve,” says Sachin.

On asking what keeps him motivated, he has only one answer -- his family. His father, mother, brother, and sister-in-law have always encouraged and supported Sachin in all his decisions. Their support is his reminder to keep achieving things in life.

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A plea for support

Boccia has been directing and guiding the lives of many differently-abled athletes across the world. It became a Paralympic sport in 1984, and since then it has been played in over 80 countries. It was introduced in India six years ago.

Sachin says that over 95 percent of people don't know about this sport in India. In order to create awareness about the sport, Sachin met with Union Minister of Sports, Anurag Thakur in April 2022.

“We discussed how to create awareness about it and how the infrastructure is lacking for it -- since the event contains 12 gold medals across all categories (45 medals in total). If India doesn’t participate in one game we are already down by 45 medals,” says Sachin, adding that the minister assured to look into this matter and provide support for the upliftment of the game.

Sachin started training for Boccia in February 2021. The sport has four different categories depending on the player. Since Sachin lacks pinching and grasping function, he is in the BC3 category, where he is allowed a ramp and a ramp operator.

He has been participating in Boccia for the last two years and won gold medals in the fifth and sixth boccia national championships as well as a silver medal in BC3 mixed pairs.

He first represented India at an international level at the Fazza Dubai 2021 World Boccia Asia-Oceania Regional Championships in November last year.

“I will continue to play and improve as much as I can. My aim is to bring a gold medal in Paralympics for India,” concludes Sachin.