Asian Para Games: Sumit Antil and an act of unexpected kindness

The Asian Para Games 2026 was declared open on October 18. India will once again witness the full glory of its para-athletes, months after some inspiring performances at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.Every time a para-sporting event comes around, it brings attention to incredible stories of athletes who have faced difficult circumstances and yet found a way to achieve extraordinary things in sport.My colleague Saurabh Kumar recently compiled a piece on some of the most inspiring stories to emerge from the Commonwealth Games 2026. Jhandu Kumar, who once sold vegetables and drove an e-rickshaw, won India's first medal at the Games. Dilip Mahatu Gavit, who was chastised for his inability to work in the fields, went on to win gold in the men's 100m T47 event.But perhaps the most incredible story of all was that of a woman, Sharmila Dhankar. Born in Haryana, Dhankar contracted polio at an early age. She was married off young, and a few years later, her life unravelled. Stripped of her dignity, she was thrown out of her home with her two daughters.At one point, Dhankar contemplated suicide. But she refused to give up. She rebuilt her life, remarried and found her biggest supporter in her husband, Ajit Singh. It was he who nudged her towards sport, something she had never considered before. Dhankar did not take up para-athletics until she was 34. In 2026, at the age of 40, she won CWG gold in the women's shot put F57 event.Stories like these leave me amazed. But they also remind me of something that should not be so difficult to understand. Para-athletes are not asking for extraordinary privileges. They want the opportunity to live with the same dignity and independence that able-bodied people often take for granted. A ramp instead of stairs. Bathrooms they can actually use. And the dignity of not being looked at as a bechari.That last word was used by para-badminton player Manasi Joshi when she spoke to me two years ago about the way people perceive persons with disabilities.The sporting achievements are extraordinary. The basic demands of everyday life should not have to be.But the Asian Para Games also bring back a different memory, one from 2024. It was not about a medal, a record or an athlete overcoming a physical barrier. It was about kindness.India had just returned from the Paris Paralympics with a record 29 medals. Athletics, shooting and badminton had powered the campaign, with the contingent winning seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals. The tally was nearly five times India's six-medal haul at the Paris Olympics.Javelin thrower Sumit Antil and high jumper Nishad Kumar were at an Adidas event at Gurgaon's Ambience Mall. Both were part of the brand's You Got This campaign, which celebrated the determination athletes need to overcome adversity, in sport and beyond.After the usual brand presentation, facilitated by the PR team, the session was opened to questions from the audience. A few hands went up. The questions were fairly routine, revolving around Sumit and Nishad's struggles and their journeys in sport. Sumit Antil (centre) in an event. (PTI Photo) Then, towards the end of the session, a young girl stood up. She wanted to speak to Sumit.There was one difficulty. She struggled to get her words out, and it was hard to understand what she was trying to say. Her coach, seemingly embarrassed by the situation, asked her to sit down.It took us a little while to understand that the girl had an intellectual disability, which made it difficult for her to express herself in a way that others could easily follow.Sumit, however, was not bothered.He asked the organisers to bring the girl up on stage. What followed was an engaging conversation that lasted around five minutes.Among the several questions she asked him, one stood out. She told Sumit that she often felt underconfident because she could not speak properly. People, she explained, did not have the patience to listen to her thoughts.Think about that for a moment. Here was a young girl who wanted to be heard, who had something to say but struggled to get the words out. She was used to people losing patience with her. Even in a room full of people gathered to celebrate athletes who had overcome adversity, she needed someone willing to stop and listen. Sumit, the Paralympic Champion, and the world record holder, did that.He spoke to her patiently, answering her questions in detail. Their conversation ranged from training and inspiration to life in general. He did not rush her or make her feel that her questions were an inconvenience. He gave her the time and attention she was looking for.It remains one of the most fascinating interviews I have ever watched. There was no complexity to it, no grand speech about overcoming adversity, no carefully constructed message about inclusion. Just a conversation between two people, one of whom wanted to be heard and another who was willing to listen.Devoid of complexity, but full of life - perhaps that is how things should be.I will attach an unedited clip of the video below for you to see.I have often thought about that interaction since. It was a small moment, one that could easily have passed unnoticed amid the excitement surrounding India's record Paralympic campaign. But it stayed with me because of how uncomplicated Sumit's response was.He was a Paralympic champion, a man who had just returned from an extraordinary campaign and was being celebrated for his achievements. The girl was struggling to express herself in a room full of people. Yet, for those five minutes, none of that mattered. Sumit gave her his time because she wanted to speak to him.We live in an era of sporting superstars, where fame can sometimes distance the athletes from the people who admire them. Fans wait for photographs, autographs or a few seconds of their favourite athlete's time. Some are turned away, sometimes because of genuine constraints, and sometimes because the person they admire no longer seems willing to stop.That makes Sumit's gesture all the more meaningful. He did not need to make a statement about kindness. He simply practised it.That day taught me to be kinder.For all the talk about sporting greatness, records and medals, we sometimes forget that, at the end of the day, we are all just people. Some of us have had to fight harder than others to be heard, to be accepted or to find our place in the world. A little patience, a little empathy and the willingness to listen can make a difference that we may never fully understand.If we were kinder to one another, the world would undoubtedly be a better place. Courtesy: PTI As the Asian Para Games begin in Nagoya, I will be watching Sumit Antil and Nishad Kumar again, along with the rest of India's contingent. I will be cheering for their performances. This time, too, they will have my unrelenting support, medal or no medal.Because what these athletes give us is not measured only in podium finishes. Sometimes, they leave us with something far more valuable: a reminder of the kind of people we can choose to be.FULL INDIAN SQUAD FOR ASIAN PARA GAMESBlind Football1. Boje Marbom2. Klingson Marak3. Pradeep Patel4. Sahil5. Shivam Singh6. Sovendra Singh7. Tushar Kumar8. Vishnubhatejuba Vaghela9. Aditya Sajwan10. Sujith Puthankattunikarath SasiBoccia1. Sachin Chamaria2. Anjali DeviPara Archery1. Harvinder Singh2. Vijay Sundi3. Toman Kumar4. Shyam Sunder Swami5. Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari6. Vinayak Amol Breed7. Sheetal Devi8. Payal Nag9. Bhawna10. Pooja11. Swati ChaudharyPara Athletics1. Ajay Kumar2. Akira Nandan Banothu3. Devender Kumar4. Haney5. Dilip Mahadu Gavit6. Mahendra Gurjar7. Manjeet8. Mohammed Basil Morssinganakathi9. Nishad Kumar10. Parveen11. Pranav Soorma12. Rakeshbhai Bhatt13. Ram Ratan Singh14. Rinku15. Sachin Sarjerao Khilari16. Shailesh Kumar17. Sharath Makanahalli Shankarappa18. Sumit19. Ajeet Singh20. Ayush Verma21. Dharambir22. Hokato Hotozhe Sema23. Mohd Yasser24. Navdeep25. Parmod26. Pranav Prashant Desai27. Praveen Kumar28. Rakesh29. Ravi Rongali30. Solairaj Dharmaraj31. Sujith Mandalamkunnath Sivadasan32. Varun Singh Bhati33. Vishesh34. Amit Kumar35. Anubhav Choudhary36. Banti37. Bhavikkumar Dineshbhai Bharwad38. Pardeep Kumar39. Pradeep Kumar40. Rahul41. Sandeep42. Sandip Sanjay Sargar43. Soman Rana44. Sukhchain45. Parveen Kumar46. Praveen Sharma47. Anjanaben Rohitbhai Bumbadiya48. Deepthi Jeevanji49. Nimisha Chakkungalparambil Suresh50. Preeti Pal51. Simran52. Soumya53. Jayanti Behera54. Tejalben Amraji Damor55. Radha Venkatesh56. Amisha Rawat57. Bhagyashri Madhavrao Jadhav58. Karamjyoti59. Rakshitha Raju60. Suchitra Parida61. Suvarna Raj62. Ravanni ValasanainiPara Badminton1. Manisha Ramadass2. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan3. Alphia James4. Thulasimathi Murugesan5. Mandeep Kaur6. Neeraj7. Shanthiya Vishwanathan8. Kanak Singh Jadaun9. Manasi Girishchandra Joshi10. Pallavi Kaluvehalli Manjunathareddy11. Sanjana Kumari12. Naveen Sivakumar13. Nitesh Kumar14. Krishna Nagar15. Pramod Bhagat16. Sukant Kadam17. Surya Kant Yadav18. Ruthick Ragupathi19. Sivarajan Solaimalai20. Abu Hubaida21. Prem Kumar Ale22. Sudarsan Muthusamy Saravanakumar23. Umesh Vikram Kumar24. Haris Mythili Srikumar25. Hardik Makkar26. Abhijeet Sakhuja27. Rakesh Pandey28. Suhas Lalinakere YathirajPara Cycling1. Arshad ShaikPara Judo1. Kapil Parmar2. Bijender3. Renuka Narayan Salave4. Kokila5. Gulshan6. Vrushali Ashok More7. DimplePara Powerlifting1. Ashok2. Jhandu Kumar3. Manish Kumar4. Parmjeet Kumar5. Suman Devi6. Kasthuri Rajamani7. Jaspreet Kaur8. Seema RaniPara Shooting1. Anandha Krishnan H2. Amir Ahmad Bhat3. Manish Narwal4. Nihal Singh5. Rakesh Nidagundi6. Rudransh Khandelwal7. Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar8. Avani Lekhara9. Mona Agarwal10. Bhakti Sharma11. Rubina Francis12. Shrishti Arora13. Sumedha PathakPara Swimming1. Kapil Kumar2. Ajay Hindurao Bhosale3. Ravi Veera Venkata Bhavani Budigina4. Abdul Quadir Indori5. Suyash Narayan Jadhav6. Chaitanya Vishwas Kulkarni7. Rohit Kumar8. Gopichand Linguta9. Vanga Niranjan Mukundan10. Tejas Nandakumar11. Himanshu Nandal12. Swatik Patil13. Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh14. Jahangir Molla15. Vaishnavi Vinod Jagtap16. Devanshi SatijaPara Table Tennis1. Bhavinaben Hasmukhbhai Patel2. Sonalben Manubhai Patel3. Baby Sahana Ravi4. Ekta Bhyan5. Prachi Pandey6. Savita Vittal Ajjanakatti7. Dattaprasad Jotiram Chougule8. Sandeep Dangi9. Jehan Dorab Madan10. Shubham Wadhwa- Ends