K Y Venkatesh

K. Y. Venkatesh is an athlete of short stature, born with a disability, who has competed and won in many sports and worked to open doors for disabled players in India. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of sports, from Karnataka ^[1].

Many sports

Venkatesh was born on 13 June 1968, the youngest child of a middle-class family ^[2]. He took a diploma in computer science from Karnataka’s technical education department in Bengaluru in 1989 ^[2]. He began with chess at school, playing in inter-school tournaments, and went on to athletics, badminton, basketball, hockey, football and volleyball ^[2]. His aim, he said, was to compete, whether he won or lost ^[2].

Medals for India

At the 4th World Dwarf Games in 2005 he won six medals, and India finished fifth in the medal table ^[2]. He was the first Indian to top the individual medal tally in international events in a single year ^[2]. He captained India at the 5th World Dwarf Games in 2009, where the team won 17 medals, four of them his: one gold and three bronze ^[2]. The Government of India later sent him as a team escort to help disabled players at international meets ^[2].

Opening doors

He played a key part in winning India affiliation to international bodies for disabled badminton, wheelchair basketball, para-equestrian sport and dwarf sports ^[2]. He works with the government and NGOs to make important public places accessible to wheelchair users, and with manufacturers on low-cost sports equipment for disabled athletes ^[2].

He has received the Limca People of the Year award and the Karnataka government’s Ekalavya Award ^[2].