Murlikant Petkar

Murlikant Petkar is India's first Paralympic gold medalist. He won an individual gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg, Germany. He set a world record in the 50 m freestyle swimming event, at 37.33 seconds. In the same games he participated in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom. He was a finalist in all three events. In 2018, he was awarded with the Padma Shri.

Biography
Murlikant Petkar was born on 1 November 1944 in Peth Islampur region of Sangli, Maharashtra. He was private or jawan of the craftsman rank in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) in the Indian Army. He was disabled during the 1965 war against Pakistan, sustaining severe bullet wounds. Petkar was originally a boxer at EME, Secunderabad. After he was crippled, he switched to swimming and other sports. He participated in table tennis at the 1968 Summer Paralympics and cleared the first round. He won four medals in swimming. He was later employed by TELCO in Pune.

In media
Chandu Champion is a Hindi-language sports drama based on his life, directed by Kabir Khan and enacted by Kartik Aaryan. It was released in theatres worldwide on 14 June 2024.