“I believe in my driver’s driver more than I do,” says the blind Indian athlete

“When I grew up, everyone in my village would say,” It is blind, it is waste, “says Rakshita Raju. Now, at the age of 24, she is one of the best athletes at the average distance in India. “It makes me so proud,” she says.

Rakshita was born blind in a remote village in southern India and has lost both parents to the age of 10. She was raised by her grandmother, who hears and spends.

“We are both disabled, so my grandmother understood me,” she says.

When Rakshi was about 13 years old, the sports teacher at her school took her aside and told her that she had the potential to be a great athlete.

“I was wondering,” How? I’m blind, so how can I run on a song that I can’t see? “She recalls.

Her teacher explained that the visual vision impairment can have a driver who works with them. Athletes join Tetter – a short strap with a cycle on both ends so each of them can hold on.

For some time, other students acted as leading ranks for cancer. Then in 2016, when she was 15, she competed in the national games, where a man called Rahul Balakishna noticed her.

Middle -distance runner, Rahul had previously competed in 1500 m. He was familiar with steam athletics by a coach at the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) several years earlier while recovering from a injury.

There was a shortage of drivers and coaches, and Rahul decided to take on both roles. The government pays his salary for the coaching side of his work, but that does not pay executives.

However, if a disabled runner visually won an international competition, their leader also receives a medal – something that Rahul has not achieved in his own career. “I felt proud that I could do it for myself and my country,” he says.

He invests his own time and money to support Rakshita by helping her move to Bangalore in 2018 so that he can have access to better training facilities.

When they do “These are the little things that matter,” Rahul says. “When they approach the curve, the driver must alert the athlete or when a competitor is ahead, he must tell the athlete so that they can make a little more effort.”

Competition rules mean that they cannot hold hands – they can only be connected to the relationship, and the leader is not allowed to press, pull or otherwise drive the visually damaged athlete.

Over time, the couple have built a strong relationship and now “I believe in my driver’s leader more than I do,” says Rakshita.

They won gold medals at the Asian Games in 2018 and 2023, returning to a huge welcome in the village of Rakshita. She smiles as she describes how the people who mocked her organized a procession for her, applauding and waving flags.

Rakshita became the first blind Indian woman to qualify for 1500m in the Paralympic Games and she competed with Rahul in Paris in 2024.

They missed a medal in France, but the only other visually damaged athlete in India, who qualified for Paris, sprinter Simran Sharma, reached the podium, bringing home bronze.

Simran is partially noticed and when she starts running, she runs alone.

But in 2021, when Simran competed in the Tokyo Paralympics, she diverted from her lane and realized that she would need a driver if she wanted to continue running.

But the demand turned out to be challenging. “He can’t be an athlete. You need someone whose technique corresponds to yours and who works as quickly as you do,” she explains.

Simran finally noticed a young athlete called Abhai Kumar, who trained in the same place as her. The 18-year-old was between competitions and Simran’s leadership was an opportunity for him to receive experience at international events.

“They sent me videos and after watching them, I thought,” I’m a quick student, it’s easy, “he says. “But when I ran for the first time, it turned out to be very difficult.” Every movement must be synchronized.

Simran and Abhai did not have time to train together long before their first international competition – the 2024 World Athletics Championships in Japan – just a few weeks after they met.

Their first race, 100m, ended with a disaster.

“None of us knew the rules correctly,” Simran says. Abhai “thought he had to stop to allow me to first cross the line, so he stopped completely.” They were disqualified as he had to continue and cross the line just behind her.

But when they reached the 200m race, they knew what they were doing and hit gold. Simran became the world champion in the T12 category.

Riding on this high, they went to the Paralympic Games in Paris. They were in fourth place in the 100m, but won bronze in the 200m race, and Simran became the first Indian woman with visual impairment to win the Paralympic medal.

But Simran is worried about how long Abhai will stay like his guide. He has his own career to think about it.

Although leadership runners receive a medal when a couple wins, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) says he cannot support salaries, cash prizes or offer a long -term career.

“All we can do is support short-term needs such as their food, accommodation, transportation and training facilities,” says PCI’s national athletics coach Mr. Satyhanarayana, who goes with one name.

Both Rakshita and Simran already have sponsorship deals that help to fund their training. They themselves pay their guides and give them a share of all the prize money they make. But Rahul and Abhai would like more support from the state and want to be allowed to apply for jobs in the public sector, reserved for athletes and women – as the athletes they work with.

Despite the uncertainty about her future with Abhai, Simran is already looking forward to the next Paralympics in Los Angeles. “I will not rest until it changes the color of this medal,” she says, hoping she will win gold next time.

Rakshita hopes for a medal next time, and Rahul next to her. “She has to win a medal,” he says. “There are many like her in the villages. They don’t know about sports and opportunities. Rakshita would be a role model for them.”

The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year (Iswoty) Award returns with its fifth edition to celebrate and honor the remarkable achievements of women athletes in India. Learn about nominees – The winner will be announced on February 17th.