Paralympic silver medalist connects with students at leadership event in Worli

If we could reel off some adjectives to begin with they would be inspiring enlightening and unforgettable That summed up Fit Aware Strong Talented FAST Ranirsquos leadership talk with Paralympic silver medallist Bhavina Patel at a Worli building recently Patel who won a silver medal in womenrsquos table tennis at the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020 addressed school girls from three public schools mdash the KK Marg Hindi 2 Secondary School Worli Seaface Mumbai English Secondary School and NM Joshi Secondary School mdash on her life journeyEmpower avenuePatel a Gujaratbased athlete was in the city on an invite from FAST Rani started by Mumbaibased nationallevel swimmers Rabhya Singh and Tarini MazumderThe 17yearold duo founded lsquoFAST Ranirsquo to empower girls through sport They have partnered with BMC schools and collaborated with organisations like Nanhi Kali to advocate for girls in sportThe audience is engrossed at the talkPodium finishBhavinaben Patel who is wheelchairbound said after a short introduction that she was afflicted with polio as a oneyearold ldquoI was born in a small place in Gujarat where there was blind belief superstition Though I had polio a family member stopped my parents from seeking further treatment My polio progressed I used to be carried to school by my parents my father would lift me on his shoulders to school I would always strive for the first second or third rank in school Those years too it was a podium finish for me fourth place was not for merdquo she said as the room exploded in applauseTaunt tiradesWhile physical challenges were everywhere ldquoIndia is still getting there when it comes to inclusivity Even some of the new buildings do not have rampsrdquo she said adding it was the verbal slights that stung Patel recalled ldquoI recall neighbours saying things like lsquoOh you are disabled what will you do in life Who will look after you after your parents are no morersquo I thought to myself Why do people talk like this Am I not a human being If I do not have legs do I not have a right to liverdquoBhavina Patel Paralympic silver medallistIn lovePatel said ldquoI moved to a city for college education and a friend of mine used to play table tennis That is when I started playing for fun Just like that I started falling in love with the game My table tennis journey had begun After graduation I worked as a clerk in a government hospital continuing to play the gamerdquo The athlete earned huge applause as she spoke about winning National Championships in table tennis finally winning a silver medal internationally in 2011 in ThailandSilver liningPatel whose address was spiked with uplifting messages and humour mdash an account of cutting a college class to buy a chaniya choli had her audience laughing mdash came to her highwater mark a silver medal at the Tokyo Summer Paralympics in 2020Patel is a lsquowinrsquospiration for so manyShe recalled ldquoCOVID clouds had gathered over the global skies I qualified for the Paralympics in Tokyo I had my nearly COVID moment too in Tokyo when I was isolated in a room in the Japanese capital a day or two before my match as I had a high fever I felt rocksolid support of my husband mdash I got married in 2017 mdash and my family as I fought through that lonely day Finally the doctor arrived my COVID test was clear and I was out of isolation The next day I was playing and eventually landed a silver medal That day I knew I could not use my legs but I always had wings and could flyrdquo she saidToday this Swami Vivekananda follower and Sachin Tendulkar fan who would have been a singer if she had not chosen sport said she has her lens trained on the Paralympics in Los Angeles 2028ldquoDo you want to flyrdquo Patel who has a Central government job and is based in Ahmedabad asked excitedly concluding her stirring hourlong talk The girls who were running up to the wheelchairbound spunky medallist who has made molehills of the mountains in her way sent their caps whirling in the air at that question signalling the positive uplifting impact Bhavinaben Patelrsquos life story had on them2011Year Bhavina Patel won silver medal in Thailand