NOIDA: Para-athlete Suvarna Raj won her maiden Asian Para Games gold in discus throw after battling a severe spinal condition, chronic pain and an emergency hospitalisation just two days before the event in Japan.After two unsuccessful attempts at Asian Para Games, Suvarna had decided this would be her final shot, and she would move on from the sport if she failed to win a medal in Japan. Asian Para Games 2026 hopes also appeared to have been dashed at the eleventh hour when she fainted due to acute spinal and cervical pain and told her team she could not compete. But with support from her husband Pradeep Raj, a former national-level para table tennis player himself, the couple’s 15-year-old son and coach Robin Singh, she went ahead, wearing a neck belt.The hospital scare also disrupted her routine in Japan. Raj could not eat normally because of her condition and had to depend on juices and fruits.“At that point, I genuinely felt that I could not compete. I told my team that my body was not allowing me to continue. Every movement was difficult, but I kept reminding myself that I had waited for this moment for years. I had competed at the Asian Para Games several times without winning a medal. I wanted to return with a medal for my country, and I knew this could be my last chance,” she said.The 44-year-old threw 15.66m in the women’s F54 discus event at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games 2026. F54 discus throw classification is meant for seated field athletes with impairments affecting trunk and lower-limb function.Raj had represented India at 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, and the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China (held in 2023), without winning a medal. “There comes a point when you start questioning yourself, especially when you keep trying but the result does not come. Winning gold has changed that feeling completely,” she said.The gold is her biggest win in a career that includes bronze in the women’s F54/55 discus throw at Dubai World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2026 and gold at Canberra Track Meet in Australia. She received National Youth Award from Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2015.Raj, who hails from Nagpur in Maharashtra and lives in Greater Noida and trained at Gautam Buddha University, contracted polio at the age of two in 1984. The condition affected her spine, leaving her with a severe curvature and problems with body balance. She continues to live with persistent pain and requires medication, insulin and assistance with some daily activities. Her preparation at GBU involved three to four support personnel, including physiotherapists and medical professionals.“People see an athlete on the field and judge the performance by the distance or the medal. They do not always see what happens before the competition or after training. Preparing for an international competition means managing treatment, physiotherapy, medication and training together. I do not want my disability to be the only thing people associate with me. I want to be recognised for what I can achieve as an athlete,” she said. She hopes to undergo spinal surgery, using the cash from her medal win.Robin said he had seen her struggle through training sessions, but the way she held herself together in Japan was exceptional. “She was emotionally exhausted and told us she would not be able to throw. We knew how much this competition meant to her, so we kept encouraging her to give it one last attempt,” he said.Javelins to barbells: How Raj ishelping budding athletesRaj founded Association for Disabled People (ADP) in 2021 to open a route into competitive sport for persons with disabilities, especially those from difficult backgrounds. About 50 persons now train at its ground in GBU, where javelins, discus and barbells share the space.Arun Pratap Singh (32), a five-time UP state javelin champion, ran a contracting business until a road accident on the Aligarh-Mathura bypass in 2020. During his recovery, a conversation with an international para-athlete drew him towards adaptive sport. He trained at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi before joining ADP and won five state golds in the F57 category despite two to three further surgeries and repeated injuries.“I realised that I could still set goals and work towards something meaningful,” Arun said. His focus is now the national championship. “I want to test myself against the best athletes in the country and see how far I can go.”Lucky, a Class XII student who lives near Dankaur railway station, joined after his father, an auto-rickshaw driver, read about ADP in a newspaper. Born with a disability, he travels nearly 13km every morning to reach the ground between 6.30 am and 7.30 am, training in discus and javelin under coaches Haider and Robin. He has won two junior national silver medals in about one-and-a-half years. “I travel every morning for training, and even during my board examinations, I come to practise after finishing my paper,” Lucky said. His aim is a Paralympic gold. “I know it may take years of hard work and consistency, but I want to keep improving,” he said, adding that he draws inspiration from Raj.
