What’s assistive know-how and the way is it serving to Para athletes | Defined

The sory to this point: Indian para-athletes created historical past on the Paris Video games by profitable 27 medals as on Friday (September 6, 2024) — surpassing the nation’s earlier finest efficiency on the Video games in 2021. There are two extra days to go because the Video games will finish on September 8.

In its thirteenth look within the Summer season Paralympics since its debut in 1968, India’s para-athlete contingent has swollen from 10 to 84 this 12 months. As an increasing number of athletes compete on the Video games, India’s medal run has additionally constantly elevated from one within the 2012 London Video games to its present tally of 27 in 2024 Paris Video games — in a span of mere twelve years.

India’s exceptional run on the Paralympic Video games has been attributed to a number of components — athlete classification, wider array of sports activities, greater qualifying contingent, the Centre’s TOPS (Goal Olympic Podium Scheme) and using assistive know-how for Paralympians.

Right here’s a have a look at what’s assistive know-how, the way it has helped Paralympians.

What’s assistive know-how?

Merchandise and their associated programs (mechanical or digital) which assist any particular person’s functioning with respect to his cognition, listening to, mobility, imaginative and prescient, communication are outlined as ‘assistive know-how’, in line with the World Well being Organisation (WHO).

Assistive know-how is used primarily by previous individuals, youngsters and adults with disabilities and other people with long-term well being points equivalent to diabetes, dementia. Typically assistive know-how is briefly utilized by individuals recuperating from an accident or sickness. These merchandise assist help individuals in bettering their well being, well-being and inclusion of participation of their household, neighborhood, sports activities and all areas of society.

Widespread examples of assistive are listening to aids, wheelchairs, therapeutic footwear that are utilized by individuals for basic use. Sportspersons use assistive applied sciences like modified racing bicycles, launch brace in archery, operating blades, modified wheelchairs to call just a few.

How does assistive know-how assist Paralympians?

In Paralympic Video games (as of 2024), there are 22 sports activities through which 4000 athletes are competing in 549 medal occasions. Some form of assistive know-how is utilized in all of those sports activities, with essentially the most being utilized in Para Archery, Para Athletics, Para Badminton, Para Judo, Para powerlifting, capturing para sport, para swimming, Para desk tennis, Para biking, Para Canoe.

Other than assistive know-how, classification of athletes helps in figuring out their eligibility to compete within the sport and group them primarily based on the extent of their impairments aside from gender or weight. Classification is customised to the game and grouped into ‘sport lessons’ primarily based on the exercise limitation brought on by their impairment.

Allow us to see intimately how assistive know-how helps in Para Archery, Para Athletics, Para Badminton, capturing para sport, para swimming and para powerlifting – all occasions which Indians have received medals via the years.

Para Archery

In Para archery, athletes shoot arrows from a distance of fifty or 70 metres utilizing both recurve, compound bow within the open class and within the W1 class for athletes impairments in each high and backside halves of their our bodies, utilizing both bow with a launch brace.

The discharge braces is strapped onto the higher physique of the athlete and a handbook set off mechanism or different hinges assist the archer to launch the arrow. India’s solely para archer with out arms, Sheetal Devi, who received a bronze medal in Paris makes use of a launch brace hooked up to a compound bow which is provided with mechanical pulleys and telescopic sight for accuracy.

Para Athletics

The most important sporting class with 164 medal occasions sees para athletes compete in observe and subject competitions equivalent to lengthy soar, excessive soar, membership throw, discus throw, javelin throw, shot put, and races spanning 100m to 5000m, 4x100m common relay and the marathon. Whereas athletes are categorised as per specs of the game, athletes use an array of assisted know-how equivalent to wheelchairs, gloves, operating blades, sighted guides aside from the sporting gear equivalent to discus, shot put and so on.

The wheelchairs utilized in racing occasions are product of aluminium or carbon fibre to make it gentle and secure and customised to an athlete’s physique. A ten-15 diploma camber could also be added to the wheels to provide them lateral stability when an athlete goes at full pace. Gloves used to push these chairs are made by 3D-printing know-how to cater to customised wants. India’s para athlete Dharambir who clinched the gold medal in males’s membership throw F51 makes use of a specialised wheelchair since he was paralysed from the waist down after he misjudged dive right into a canal and struck rocks beneath.

Prosthetic units equivalent to operating blades are required for use in observe occasions, however are non-compulsory in subject occasions. Working blades are J-shaped prosthetics that are gentle, compact and springy, product of carbon fibre to assist athletes step forward throughout a dash, a vertical elevate or an extended soar. One of the notorious para runner, South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, has received eight medals utilizing his operating blades as he was amputated from the knee beneath at 11 months.

Visually-impaired athletes use eye-masks, rope tethers to hyperlink with their sighted guides (runners main the athletes) whereas acoustic units are used as a substitute of human ‘caller’ to mark take-off in leaping or throwing occasions. Brazilian sprinter Thalita Vitoria Simplicio Da Silva and her sighted information runner Felipe Veloso have been racing collectively for 11 years in good unison, profitable 4 silver medals on the Paralympic Video games until date.

Para Badminton

Featured first in Tokyo 2020, Para Badminton is an evolving sport with 16 medal occasions. It has six sport lessons – WH1, WH2 (athletes utilizing wheelchairs with assist wheels), SL3, SL4 (standing athletes with decrease limb impairment), SU5 (standing athletes with higher limb impairment) and SS6 (athletes with genetic situation like dwarfism).

The wheelchairs used are geared up with a backrest and additional caster wheels within the again to permit gamers to maneuver freely, twist and lean backwards with out tipping over. The wheelchairs are constructed for pace and stability as gamers rally and execute a smash transfer whereas taking part in.

Taking pictures

Athletes compete in two classes – SH1 (higher and/or decrease physique impairment) in pistol or rifle occasions and SH2 (higher limb and/or decrease limb impairment) in rifle occasions utilizing a capturing stand to assist the rifle. The athletes could also be standing or use a wheelchair for these occasions. In Paris, India’s wheelchair-bound para shooters Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal have clinched a number of medals in rifle capturing occasions.

Avani Lekhara of Group India competes in the course of the Ladies’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 Qualification spherical on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer season Paralympic Video games at Chateauroux Taking pictures Centre on August 30, 2024 in Chateauroux, France.
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Getty Pictures

Para swimming

One of the open sport, para swimming, has 141 medal occasions through which 600 athletes compete spanning all eligible impairment teams – visible, bodily and mental). Athletes take part in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, particular person medley and relay occasions utilizing a number of assistive know-how.

The game has witnessed athletes with spinal wire accidents, amputees, imaginative and prescient impairment, cerebral palsy, Relying on their impairment, the race can start with a dive, a grip, holding a rope with their mouth and within the water. Bodily impaired athletes are categorised into ten sport lessons and must compete with none protheses.

Visually-impaired athletes have three sport lessons and may use assistive know-how like blackout goggles or an assistant with a ‘tapper’ – a pole with a smooth piece hooked up to its finish to faucet the participant on the top, shoulder or again to point a flip or a wall. USA’s Trischa Zorn-Hudson, born blind as a result of a genetic eye situation, is essentially the most embellished athlete in Paralympic historical past profitable 46 medals together with 32 gold medals, 9 silver medals and 5 bronze medals.

Para powerlifting

Para powerlifting sees 180 athletes competing in 20 medal occasions in a single sport class- impairment of their decrease limbs or hips. Regardless of the impairments, all athletes have to try to elevate the bar and the weights as per the physique weight and gender class. Whereas the athletes don’t use any assistive know-how, energy help fits had been launched in Tokyo 2020 to assist assist workers connect and take away weights from barbells.

What’s the want and impact of assistive applied sciences?

In response to WHO’s International report on assistive know-how (2022), solely 3% of individuals in some low-income international locations have entry to the assistive merchandise compared to 90% in some high-income international locations. Detailing the shortage of mostly used assistive applied sciences, WHO estimates that solely 5-35% of the 80 million individuals who want a wheelchair have entry to it, whereas lower than 10% of the 1.5 billion affected by listening to loss have a listening to assist to help them. Want for these applied sciences is a world necessity, specifically in sporting occasions.

Use of assistive know-how started with the primary official Paralympics in 1968 when common wheelchairs with easy strapping had been used. As know-how advanced, a lot of the above-mentioned merchandise had been put to make use of by the tip of 2000s, selling inclusion, range and alternative to para athletes. The most important breakthrough has been the operating blades which have enabled lower-limb impaired athletes to compete at speeds akin to, and generally even sooner than common athletes, says PTI.

Assistive know-how is step by step bridging the hole for para-athletes and common able-bodied ones. Neuro-prosthetics which interface with the human nervous system to beat lack of muscular energy can be utilized to enhance performances of para-athletes in rowing machines, wheelchairs and so on. A analysis workforce primarily based within the College of Queensland is utilizing synthetic intelligence-driven classification system to permit athletes carry out a big selection of actions over time and submit their video for classification. It will lead to a extra correct, goal sports activities class.

Blake Leeper of the US (L) Alan Oliviera of Brazil (2-L), Jonnie Peacock (C) of Nice Britain Richard Brownie (2-R) of the US and Arnu Fourie of Russia compete within the mens T43/44 100 metres occasion in the course of the Worldwide Para Problem within the London Anniversary Video games on the Olympic Stadium in London on July 28, 2013. AFP PHOTO/GLYN KIRK

Nevertheless, with elevated inclusion and technological developments, instances of unfair benefit have cropped up within the current years. In 2019, Blake Leeper, a bilateral amputee sprinter sought to compete within the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in opposition to able-bodied athletes. Nevertheless, he was rejected by the Worldwide Olympic Committee stating that Leeper’s prosthetics gave him a aggressive benefit.

Therefore, to steer the dialogue again to inclusivity and entry, WHO teamed with the Worldwide Paralympic Committee (IPC) to launch the ‘Outfitted for fairness’ marketing campaign within the Paris Video games. This calls upon governments to cut back or eradicate taxes on assistive know-how, combine assistive know-how into major well being care and guarantee its widespread entry.