All of four feet two inches, a fisherman-turned-para-badminton player hopes his crowdfunding campaign will help bag gold at the World Championships later this year
The para-badminton player aims for a shot at Bandra’s Carter Road. Pic/Sneha Kharabe
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A bunch of kids, on their way to school, stop in their tracks and stare at Mark Dharmai as he crosses the street to meet us on Bandra's Carter Road. It's not the badminton racquet or a barrel of shuttlecocks in his hand that have caught their attention. They size him up - four feet and two inches. "Till date, people on the street, and children particularly, jeer and mock me. Initially, it would affect me but over the last few years, I have taken it in my stride. Success on the world stage has helped," smiles the 32-year-old, showing off a few backhand shots for the benefit of the mid-day photographer.
Dharmai tries his hand at fishing in a still from the campaign video
His newfound confidence is courtesy the world rankings he holds in para-badminton. As per BWF's (Badminton World Federation) records from November 2016, he stands third in Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles Category, and 10th in Men's Singles Category. Next week, he flies off to Bangkok to participate in Thailand Para-Badminton International Tournament, and in August, he will be in Canada for World Dwarf Games. An ongoing crowdfunding campaign of '8.85 lakh on FuelADream is instrumental in giving wings to this para-athlete's dreams.
Mark Dharmai (third from right) at the Asian Para-Badminton Championship 2016 in Beijing
Casting the net
An East Indian resident of Bandra's Chimbai Village, Dharmai was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. At the age of eight, he discovered his disability. "I would ask my parents why my physical growth wasn't the same as my classmates. They wouldn't tell me but when they took me to a doctor for treatment, I figured it out. My parents were my biggest support during a traumatic childhood," says the commerce graduate from St Andrew's College, who spent his growing up years, accompanying his father, a local fisherman, on the boat. "Assisting him was an economic compulsion. I didn't enjoy fishing because the seawater is polluted. I left it once my focus shifted to badminton."
Create a racquet
As a child, Dharmai remembers watching his uncle, Leo, play hockey and football in national-level competitions, with fascination. Fr Evan D'Souza, his principal at St Andrew's High School, also encouraged him to participate in inter-school hockey and football competitions. In 2010, Dharmai realised that his calling was badminton, through the now defunct social networking portal, Orkut. "I wanted to know if there were any sport competitions for dwarfs. So, I posted the question and Venkatesh [Raman] sir, a badminton coach, suggested that I compete in the paralympic category at a national-level competition for dwarfs that was being held in Bengaluru. With financial help from my friends, I landed there. It was the first time I stepped on the badminton court. I didn't even know how to hold a racquet. However, I grew to love badminton because it helped me use my strong upper body. I was also more comfortable playing an individual sport because of low self-esteem," he shares.
Smashing every hurdle
Without any formal coaching, Dharmai spent three years mastering the racquet sport by watching videos of badminton champions like Chen Long (China), PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. He would also practise rigorously, sometimes with senior citizens, at The Bandra Gymkhana, which offered him a pro-bono membership.
In 2013, Dharmai clinched his first international medal at a world championship in Germany, and since then, has been winning consistently on the world stage. "Playing a singles' match is more challenging because I need to traverse the entire court on my own. It requires me to take twice the number of steps than an able-bodied person. On the para-badminton court, the rules are the same, and so is the height of the net. So, reaching for the shuttle and striking it above the net is challenging. In other countries, the national associations help dwarfs with fitness training, diet and scientific coaching, but that's not the case here. In fact, we don't even have a dwarfs' census," he shares, adding that about 10 to 12 dwarf badminton players play in the country.
The road ahead
Today, Dharmai is surrounded by a team of supporters, including a life coach and naturopath, who help with his fitness training and plan his vegetarian protein-rich diet. "I miss eating Sorpotel and Vindaloo," he laughs. All this so that he can remain in shape for four international tournaments this year. Having achieved the original target of '3.85 lakh within three days of launching the campaign, Dharmai has been able to fund his trips to Thailand and Canada.
The extended campaign, live for another 20 days, will help him raise funds for airfare and accommodation for world championships in USA and South Korea, to be held at the end of the year. "My aim is to participate in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. I wish to start a sports academy for dwarfs, and have a football team, which will play against Brazil or Argentina in Mumbai." We're told the academy will be called Little Giants.
Perfect.
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