Count ability, not the disability, says Padma Shri awardee Paralympian Venkatesh

Meet K Y Venkatesh, a 51-year-old para-sportsman and Padma Shri awardee of this year, who did not let his disability come in the way of his dream to make a mark in the field of sports. Venkatesh has achondroplasia, a condition that leads to dwarfism.

Bengaluru: The para-athlete KY Venkatesh hailing from Bengaluru conferred with the Padma Shri for his contribution to sport and its development. In 1994, Venkatesh has represented India in the International Paralympic Committee world championship in Germany and in a stadium where the national hockey team had won gold.

“It was so motivating and inspiring to be there and represent India,” says Venkatesh who has achondroplasia, a condition that leads to dwarfism. He emphasizes saying “Countability, not a disability,”.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, he said, “I was always interested in badminton, volleyball, throwball etc. And then I found out about CN Janaki. She is the person who inspired me to dream big. Janaki suffered from polio since she was two years old and in 1992, she set the record for being the first physically challenged person to swim across the English Channel. I thought if someone without any sensation in her legs can achieve something like this, why can’t I? With steely determination, I started focusing seriously on sports.

Venkatesh’s father was an ayurvedic doctor and mother homemaker. Venkatesh is the youngest among their six children. He says his family has always stood firmly behind him and encouraged him to strive harder that pushed him into his first sports event in Mysuru for the first time in 1993.

Despite all challenges, Venkatesh has never looked back since and won medals for India in Badminton, shot put, javelin, discus throw, and other athletics. Since then, para-badminton athletes followed in his footsteps and won several laurels for India. He emphasized that para-athletes need encouragement and not compassion to strive to unlock their potential in sports and other fields.

Venkatesh won his first gold for the country in the shot put in 1999 in Australia. In 2005, he created world record when he bagged six medals in various sports at the 4th World Dwarf Games. He has represented the nation in track and field events as well as other sports winning accolades and medals along the way.

He picked up a silver medal for badminton at the LG World Cup 2002 as well as three gold and two silver medals in shot put, discus throw and javelin throw at the Open Track and Field Championship 2004.

The same year, he also bagged one gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the Swedish Open Track & Field Championship. He also won a gold medal in the hockey event, silver medals in football and basketball events and the bronze medal in the badminton event of the European Open Championships 2006.

Even though he has retired from the world of professional sports, he still continues to be the secretary of the Karnataka Para-Badminton Association that conducts national tournament in Bengaluru every year.