Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh’s 35-year-old para swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia, with 70% disability in both legs, is all set to cross English Channel in a two-way relay swimming from July 17 to 22, 2023. He will swim across English Channel and return. In 2018, Lohia had swum through English Channel but it was a one-way relay event. English Channel is an arm of Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France.
“I want to fight and win on my merits and not on my disabilities,” Lohia told Free Press. “I hate the word para. When someone says para, they show sympathy but it should not be like this. My disability is my strength and I am not weak. I want to fight and win on my merits, not on my disabilities,” he added.
While talking about the state government’s support for para athletes, he said para athletes were entitled to the same financial benefits as ordinary athletes. “So, on that level, all are equal. All we need to do is perform our best, and if we don’t get what we deserve, then we should surely question the government. As a para swimmer, I never felt that the government didn’t support me,” he said.
According to Lohia, government should launch campaigns to make people aware of para sports in villages where lay the real talent.
On September 20, Lohia became the first para swimmer from Asia to cross North Channel in Ireland. He crossed North Channel in 14 hours and 39 minutes to set a world record. He has received Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2019.
