Murlikant Petkar is India's first Paralympic gold medalist. He won an individual gold medal in the

1972 Summer Paralympics The 1972 Summer Paralympics (german: Paralympische Sommerspiele 1972), the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972. The games ended 15 days before the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Mu ...

, in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany. He set a world record in the 50 m

freestyle swimming Freestyle is a category of Swimming (sport), swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races ar ...

event, at 37.33 seconds. In the same games he participated in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom. He was a finalist in all three events. In 2018, he was awarded with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

Biography

Murlikant Petkar was born on 1 November 1944 in Peth Islampur region of Sangli, Maharashtra. He was private or ''jawan'' of the craftsman rank in the

Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) is an arms and service branch of the Indian Army. The Corps has varying responsibilities related to the design, development, trial, inspection and refit of weapon systems and equipment. They ...

(EME) in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

. He was disabled during the 1965 war against Pakistan, sustaining severe bullet wounds. Petkar was originally a boxer at EME,

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South Central Railway ...

. After he was crippled he switched to swimming and other sports. He participated in table tennis at the

1968 Summer Paralympics The 1968 Summer Paralympics ( he, המשחקים הפאראלימפיים בקיץ 1968) were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as th ...

and cleared the first round. He won four medals in swimming. He was later employed by TELCO in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

In media

''Chandu Champion'' - Upcoming biopic based on Murlikant Petkar which is directed by Kabir Khan.

References

External links

Petkar in EME
Indian male freestyle swimmers Paralympic swimmers for India Paralympic gold medalists for India Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Living people Swimmers from Maharashtra Boxers from Maharashtra Indian male boxers Indian male athletes Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Paralympic medalists in swimming 1944 births {{India-athletics-bio-stub

Biography

In media

See also

References

External links