The adrenaline-filled Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 concluded earlier this month and the world will be spectators to another rousing sporting event - Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. India is already aiming for the sky at the upcoming event, for which it has sent its biggest contingent with 54 para-athletes across nine sports disciplines. One name that is consistent with Paralympic sports events over the years and at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games is a young Kashmiri Pandit, whose strong resolve has been an inspiration to India's special athletes.
Arhan Bagati is just 22 years old and has been appointed the Deputy Chef-De-Mission of the 54-member Paralympic squad of India. Bagati reached Tokyo on Thursday morning for the Paralympic Games, which gets underway from August 24. India's Chef de Mission for the 2020 Paralympic Games, Gursharan Singh, expressed his confidence in bagging at least 15 medals, including five gold, in Tokyo.
Bagati has been a crucial part of the Paralympics since 2015 and it comes as a huge achievement for the young lad, who has had a strong resolve and commitment towards special athletes since as a teen. Bagati says India will have its best-ever performance at Tokyo Paralympics.
Arhan Bagati and his love for Paralympics
The Indian contingent is accompanied by 22-year-old Bagati, who is the youngest Deputy Chef De Mission in the world at the Tokyo Paralympics. Bagati recently graduated from Pamona College in the US, but has been associated with Paralympics since 2015 as the Awareness and Impact Ambassador.
Speaking about his appointment at the Paralympic Committee of India, he told Money Control: "it is something that reassures me (as a young person) that the Paralympic Committee of India has a long-term view about the Paralympic Movement, its focus on the youth, and its efforts towards bringing in the generational shift in perceptions about the Paralympics."
When Bagati was in class 12 at the Shri Ram School of Gurugram, he played an instrumental role in the Rio Games. He developed the "In Rio" app, which assisted para-athletes during the big event. The app helped the athletes with various queries, including preparation, diet, fitness, and more. Bagati has built upon the original app idea to bring yet another app for the Indian Paralympic athletes travelling to Tokyo. Dubbed IndTokyo, the new app provides all the essential information about diet, nutrition, accessible places to visit in Tokyo and a speed dial emergency feature.
Bagati's commitment towards Paralympics goes beyond this. He is a huge fan of late Milkha Singh, who he reveals was an inspiration to take the para movement forward. When Bagati interacted with the legendary "Flying Sikh" in 2014, he came to understand the struggles of para-athletes and things changed forever.
Even before his official association with Paralympics in 2015, Bagati kept in regular touch with the special athletes. He even donated his entire pocket money and sought help from family and friends to sponsor Para-athlete Gold medalist in the 2016 Rio Games, Mariyappa Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati, who won a bronze in 2016.
With Kashmiri roots, Bagati wishes to back to the valley. He is already in the process of setting up 'KYARI' – Kashmir's Yumberzal Applied Research Institute, which aims to conduct Applied Research on a broad spectrum of topics that impact civic and social issues in J&K. It will also ultimately pave way for decision-making in the matters of public policy.
