‘We get support only during the major events’: para-swimmer Niranjan Mukundan asks for more consistent interest from the Indian community

Niranjan Mukundan talks to us about how he began his career as a para swimmer and what lies on the horizon next.

Indian para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan has started the season off with a bang. Not only did he win six gold and a bronze medal and get felicitated as the best male para swimmer at the Bergen Swim Festival in Norway, he also broke a 16-year-old Asian record for finishing time in the 1500m freestyle S7 category.

Although a victory of such proportions could get anyone on cloud nine, Niranjan was modest about it given that the season has just begun. “It is just like the start of the season for me because this is a packed year with World Championships and Asian Games lined up later. This is like a good and important competition to just see where I stand and it’s always great to break an Asian record. I’m pleased about the times I recorded during my swims,” said the 28-year-old.

Of course, Norway holds a special place in the career of Niranjan. It was here where he clocked the B qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

“It’s a wonderful atmosphere there. We had some great swimmers - both para and abled - and to be winning there was a great moment.”

“For us swimmers, we do have certain pools which are favourite and we call them as ‘fast pools’. For me, Norway and that pool [at Bergen] are fast pools for me. I’ve swam there like two years ago and performed well then as well and then couple of years later now, I’ve had a great campaign again,” he added.

What makes his story so inspiring is the fact that a young Niranjan first took to the pool because doctors had recommended aqua therapy in order to increase mobility. Born with a medical condition called spina bifida, which affects the spine and for which he has undergone 16 corrective surgeries till date, it was a doctor in Bangalore who had suggested swimming in order to strengthen his legs.

“I was not able to stand up till the age of five and my parents had to carry me everywhere. I had no strength below my waist and the doctors suggested to take up swimming,” he recollects.

“Getting in the water changed my entire life. I loved every moment of it. I also felt a sense of freedom when I got into the pool because I was able to move from one place to another while the land felt more restrictive.”

However, what started out as a therapeutic exercise that enabled Niranjan to lead ‘as normal a life as possible’ ended up becoming his professional career. He admits that he never saw it coming in his wildest dreams.

“No way [on asked whether he knew he’d end up being a para-swimmer]! There were not even thoughts about the matter or me representing my state or nation in the sport,” he exclaims.

“It was only when one of the coaches here in Bangalore - John Christopher - spotted me that we started paying more attention to it [para-swimming].

“Back then, in 2003 and 2004, people didn’t have much awareness and we had only one or two stars in para-sports, let alone swimming. We had only stars in athletics like Devendra Jhajharia who had done well. Initially, it was a scary proposition for my parents regarding the possible avenues, but they did end up taking the risk because there was nothing to lose.”

Everything started falling into place from that point on. Just six months down the line, he had been selected for the state team and soon began doing well in national level competitions. That is how the competitive career started taking shape.

The 2012-13 season was special for Niranjan because it was the first time that he represented India internationally. “That was a surreal moment because I never imagined that I’d be wearing the tricolour. That was a dream come true.”

Another landmark moment in his career arrived when he was crowned the Junior World Champion in 2015. “That event was the last junior in my career and winning 10 medals there and getting crowned as world champion was unbelievable. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my career,” he added.

Making it to the Olympics is unquestionably the highlight of any athlete’s career. Ironically, Niranjan had to wait until the last moment to find out that he was going to Tokyo because the COVID-induced lockdowns had put everything up in the air.

“Everything was put on hold due to COVID and there was so much uncertainty. At 11:45 pm on the last day of confirmation, when I had gone to bed, I got a call from the International Paralympic Commission, asking me to pack my bags, and leave in three weeks.

“That was a enormous thing, to represent 130 crore people, at the Olympics. It was a dream come true.”

The Tokyo Paralympics also proved to be a major watershed moment for para-sports as India found itself obsessing over the athletes and their enormous achievements. The world is a different place now compared to when Niranjan Mukundan first started out as a para-swimmer.

“Initially, when we first started out, there were only a couple of names. And though para-athletes were performing here and there, the only knowledge and awareness that the general public had was that people with disabilities were taking part in such sports.

“There’s been a lot of shift and change. Even when my event took place in Tokyo, it happened very early in the morning at around 5:30 AM IST. I still had like hundred and thousands of people wake up early and watch my event, which clearly shows the shift in mindset of people.”

However, he wishes that the Indian community was more consistent in its curiosity when it came to para-athletes or even athletes of smaller sports and not just take interest during the big events like Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics.

“You know, we still ask and require the support throughout instead of just at or during the Paralympics or Asian Games. I am also a very big cricket fan and we’re a country that worships cricket. While there’s nothing wrong with that, when we look at other sports and the performances that we’ve seen over the years, sometimes, I personally feel that there’s room for progress.

“We [athletes] kind of vanish [in the months between the big competitions]. Then during a big event, everyone pops up asking ‘how is the preparation’, ‘can we expect a medal’ and then we diminish for a few years,” he signs off.

Having just arrived after conquering Norway, Niranjan Mukundan will be off to Germany to take part in the World Series in three weeks. The calendar is packed, and with the Asian Games and the World Championships to arrive later this year, expect to hear a lot more of him.