Back from Paris with a best-ever haul of 29 medals, including seven gold, the Indian paralympic contingent is all praise for the support it received from the government, but not so much for the corporate sector.

When FE spoke with athletes from the 84-member contingent, they were unanimous that there is a need to improve corporate backing, as sponsorships are far and few, and not every athlete is the recipient of such support. Two-time silver medallist in discus throw Yogesh Kathuniya was categorical in stating: “The government has supported us and has been inclusive. Corporates are not that inclusive as yet because our medal does not hold as much value to them as that of the Olympics. This is the truth.”

Even after the 2024 Paris Paralympics which yielded seven gold as compared to none in the Olympics, reportedly there have been no fresh brand deals for any of the paralympians.

Endorsements and sponsorships are anyway much fewer and come with lower compensation for the paralympians as compared to the Olympic medallists. Reportedly, the average fee charged by top paralympic athletes is Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for each sporting association, while top-performing Olympians charge Rs 75 lakh to Rs 4 crore per deal.

While the brand value of top Olympians like Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, PR Sreejesh, Lakshya Sen and Arjun Babuta saw a significant rise after Paris, gold winners like Nitesh Kumar (para-badminton) and Navdeep Singh (javelin) have no brand deals at all.

At the same time, Neeraj Chopra’s brand value increased by 40-50% with an estimated Rs 4 crore annually per brand post-Paris. Manu Bhaker’s fees increased six-seven times per deal from the Rs 20-25 lakh per endorsement that she charged before the Olympics. Sreejesh recently sealed a deal with Zomato and has seen a 20-30% increase in his brand value. Sen’s brand value increased by 40-50% and Babuta’s by 15-20%.

Paralympians Mariyappan Thangavelu, Thulasimathi Murugesan and Preethi Pal also don’t have any brand deals. Mariyappan has been consistently winning medals since 2016. He won gold at 2016 Rio, silver at 2020 Tokyo, and bronze at 2024 Paris. Thulasimathi won a silver medal in her para-badminton debut and Preethi won two bronze medals at the 2024 games.

Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president and the first Indian paralympian to win two gold medals in javelin throw, Devendra Jhajharia told FE: “There are many reasons behind our success, but the most prominent is PM Modi’s support. In Mann ki Baat, he has talked about para sports several times. When his message goes to the children at the grassroots, they get interested in sports.”

PCI chief coach Satyanarayana, former PCI president Deepa Mallik, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Paralympic Sports Association Kirubakaran Rajan, and paralympians Sumit Antil, Yogesh Kathuniya, Harvinder Singh, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Navdeep Singh, Nitesh Kumar, Avani Lekhara and Sheetal Devi, all spoke with FE and praised government schemes like Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), started in 2014, besides support from Sports Authority of India, sporting not-for-profit organisations like OGQ and GoSports Foundation, etc. Kathuniya said: “TOPS criticises us too when performance suffers, but they give empathy and not sympathy.”

They expect the same empathy from corporates too. For more medals, the coach and athletes say more corporate involvement is required to build world-class infrastructure and facilities. Kathuniya makes a special appeal to corporates: “For 2028, I want to say to the corporates, please give us good technology, academy for para sports, provide us best supplements and not just money. We will take your names but we need to go beyond ‘reels and brand building’ kind of support.”

Kirubakaran Rajan, general secretary, of Tamil Nadu Paralympic Sports Association, feels more optimistic though, saying: “Things are changing for the better and people are more aware of paralympians. This will hopefully attract more sponsorship too.”

Meanwhile, Indian Oil, which is the main sponsor for the Indian paralympic team, has announced to provide monthly scholarships and medical insurance to all para-athletes.