Over 500 athletes with dwarfism took part in the World Dwarf Games in Cologne in central Germany this year. Some just wanted to excel in their discipline. Others hoped to encourage people with restricted abilities.
“It’s like coming home,” says Arunachalam Nalini, a financial manager from India.
At the Paralympics, only a certain range of activities, such as javelin and discus throwing, swimming and weightlifting, are open to athletes with dwarfism but the World Dwarf Games offers 10 disciplines, including badminton, basketball and bocce, over nine days this year.
The atmosphere is relaxed. Nalini laughs and takes selfies with two Canadian athletes, telling DW that she can be herself at this event. She says it’s a welcome change because often at work or in other areas of life she has the impression that she has to do more than others just to prove she can keep up. “People without restrictions are not always aware of how little things, such as stairs, can be a huge obstacle for us. I wish that would change.”
Nalini, 55, says she started doing sport many years ago to keep fit. Then she discovered parasports — sports played by people with a disability — and started training. She has now won 42 medals at regional, national and international events. Her favorite discipline is badminton, for which she won bronze in Cologne this year.
Her teammate Mark Dharmai is one of the most famous badminton players with dwarfism in the world. He grew up in a family where there was plenty of enthusiasm for sport, he says, starting with soccer and hockey.
But he took up badminton after the difference in size with other players became too great for him. He tells DW that doing sport teaches discipline and integrity, “and that you have to take care of others.”
He wants to be a mentor to others and pass this knowledge onto younger people. He says that sports are a very good way of raising awareness. “Society should accept us as we are and accept us better. When we win a medal for our country, it’s like an eye-opener, showing others what we’re capable of doing.”
Source : dw.com
