Polio Took His Legs, Yet His Arms Win Him Medals the World Over

India’s finest arm-wrestler wins international trophies, but gets no support from the Centre.

Harish Verma is India’s finest paraplegic arm wrestler.

(Photo: Rahul Nair/The Quint)

Video Editor: Rahul Sanpui

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”, said Forrest Gump, who was a polio patient himself. However, Forrest (Tom Hanks), the protagonist in the movie, was able to break free from his crutches and run as fast as the wind.

A similar philosophy is practised by Harish Verma, who lost his legs to polio at the age of two. Today, he is India’s finest paraplegic arm wrestler, and has won international accolades.

Yet, Verma leads a tumultuous life. He works as a contractual employee for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation(AMC), and earns a meagre pay, which is not enough to sustain his family and passion for arm wrestling.

In spite of physical and financial constraints, Verma’s focus on the game made him an Asian and World Champion Arm Wrestler (Wheelchair Category).

Speaking to The Quint, the arm wrestler said he believes that differently-abled people do not need pity or sympathy, they need support.

I am not helpless. I am an international player and I want to do better than everyone else. I want to show the world that any handicapped person, be it physically, mentally, deaf, dumb or blind, is not helpless. That person needs support. They don’t need your sympathy.

Financial Hurdles

Verma works as a gym trainer in an AMC-run gymnasium at Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad. He works as a contractual employee and only earns Rs 12,000 per month, which is insufficient to run his home and maintain his fitness levels. He has approached the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the state and central government several times to help him get sports funding.

However, each time he has been rejected on the grounds that arm-wrestling is a non-Olympic sport.

I received a rejection letter from the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG). So I asked them why can’t I get help as a special case. It’s not like I only play in state and national level tournaments. Look at my international performance;  I should get help. The HODs of these departments have the power to help under special cases. Still nothing happens. They say it’s a non-Olympic sport and I play under the handicapped category. They say if something works out they will inform me. This is how they absolve themselves from helping me. 

Harish Verma

What’s worse, he doesn’t even get leave to participate in state, national and international tournaments.

However, Verma is surrounded by good samaritans who lend him a helping hand every time an international championship is around the corner.

The arm-wrestler said he hopes that someday the state government will listen to his pleas and grant him a permanent job. This, he added, will secure his and his family’s future.

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