January 2, 2025 4:50 PM

Murlikant Petkar to receive Arjuna award for lifetime achievement, 52 years after winning India’s first Paralympic gold

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 secur...