The sports ministry on Thursday announced that Murlikant Rajaram Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medalist, will receive the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) 52 years after his achievement.
A soldier in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) of the Indian Army, Petkar suffered a debilitating injury that left him paraplegic. Despite this, he won the gold medal in the men’s 50m freestyle swimming event at the 1972 Paralympic Games in Heidelberg, becoming the first Indian to secure an individual gold medal at the Olympics or Paralympics.
Petkar, who sustained severe injuries during an attack on an army camp in Srinagar during the 1965 war with Pakistan, set three world records while clinching the gold medal. However, he went unrecognized with the Arjuna Award for nearly half a century, as para-sports were not widely acknowledged in those times.
Now, the 80-year-old Petkar will receive the award from President Droupadi Murmu at a specially organized ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, 2025. He was previously honored with the Padma Shri in 2018.
The legendary para-swimmer’s achievements remained underappreciated for decades due to the lack of recognition for para-sports from the public and government. Despite minimal facilities and support, Petkar persevered to achieve historic success.
An all-rounder in sports, Petkar competed in multiple disciplines before excelling in para-swimming. He was an aspiring boxer and had won a gold medal in boxing at the Military Games in Japan shortly before his injury.
Petkar represented India at the 1968 and 1972 Paralympic Games. In the 1968 Games in Mexico, he participated in para-table tennis, reaching the second round. In 1972, alongside swimming, he also competed in javelin throw, precision javelin throw, and slalom, reaching the finals in all three events.
After retiring from TELCO, Petkar now leads a quiet life in Pune, where his son, Arjun Murlikant Petkar, is employed in the Army.
