Mark Dharmai's cry for funds

For an athlete who has bagged a bronze medal, the next aim is to better it and turn it into silver or a gold. And to do that the individual has to take part in the next tournament. While entering a competition sounds so simple, Mark Dharmai can explain how hard  it is for a dwarf to be able to travel abroad for tournaments.

The multi-sport athlete excels in badminton while he doesn’t shy away from sports like shot put and discus throw. Even though he has over hundred medals, the four-feet two-inch tall athlete still carries out his duties as a fisherman to earn a living. His 50 square meter house is located in Chimbai village in Bandra that is around the seashore.

One wonders that medals must be getting him money but that’s not how it works for Dharmai who has to fund his own endeavors. “There is no support from the government for people like us,” says Dharmai who was born with achondroplasia, which is a common dwarfism form.

 In April, he came back from the Dubai Para-Badminton International 2018 with a bronze in the men’s doubles category with Raja Magotra. The tournament has already burned a hole in his public funded pocket. “I have already exhausted a lot of money from 2018’s funds to play in Dubai. There is another tournament taking place in Turkey but the money became a problem,” says the former number three in para badminton.

It is only the love of sports and not the motive of making money that attracts him. Dharmai grew up playing hockey and football as a kid. Unaware of something like ‘Dwarf Games’ he always competed with people probably double his size. As luck would have it, it was the extinct social media platform Orkut that introduced the 33-year-old to the concept.

“I found KY Venkatesh on Orkut and he told me that they (dwarf games) exist,” as he recalls. From 2013 to 2016, he grabbed a total of nine medals at various competitions with three gold, one silver and five bronzes to his tally. For a self-trained athlete, it is fairly a figure to boast about. “The government has not funded any of my campaigns but I have had a godfather in the name of Nawal Shah, who has pulled all kinds of strings to introduce me to the right kind of people,” he says talking about Shah, a retired businessman, who read about him in the newspaper and made the choice to help him out.

As a kid, academics were always something secondary for him with fishing being primary. However, Dharmai managed to complete his graduation amidst the hand-to-mouth situation at home. On the other hand, he has always been devoted to constantly play. And it’s not just badminton, but hockey, football and even cricket which he has played. “Being a dwarf, I could not get the jobs that a graduate should. I was disappointed of course but I did not let it drag me down,” he says.

If the situation improves financially, Dharmai will go to Brazil for the Para-Badminton Open in August. “We are hoping to make enough money to make for that tournament while we still miss a couple of open in the middle,” he says.