I believe in my guide runner more than myself' says blind Indian athlete

"When she was little, people in the village used to say, 'She's blind, she's useless,'" Rakshitha Raju recalled. Now, at 24, she is one of India's top middle and long-distance para-athletes. "This makes me incredibly proud," she said.

Rakshitha was born blind in a remote village in southern India, and both her parents died when she was 10. She was raised by her grandmother, who is deaf and mute. "We both had disabilities, so my grandmother understood me well," she said.

At around the age of 13, a sports teacher at her school called Rakshitha aside and told her she had the potential to be a great athlete. "I was confused at the time: 'How is that possible? I'm blind, how can I run on a track I can't see?'" she recalled.

Her teacher explained that visually impaired runners can have a guide who runs alongside them. The athletes are connected by a tether, a short rope with a loop at each end for them to hold. Initially, other students served as Rakshitha's guides. In 2016, at the age of 15, she participated in the National Games, where a man named Rahul Balakrishna spotted her.

Rahul is a middle and long-distance runner who had previously competed in the 1500m event. A few years earlier, while recovering from an injury, he was introduced to para-athletics by a coach from the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI). There was a shortage of guides and coaches at the time, so Rahul decided to take on both roles. The government pays him for his work as a coach, but not for being a guide.

However, if a visually impaired runner wins an international competition, their guide also receives a medal—something Rahul did not achieve in his own running career. "I am proud to be able to do this for myself and my country," he said. He has invested his own time and money to support Rakshitha, helping her move to Bangalore in 2018 so she could have access to better training facilities.

Rahul says that "details are important" when running. "When they are approaching a curve, the guide must remind the athlete; or when there is a competitor overtaking, he must tell the athlete so they can push harder." The rules of the competition mean they cannot hold hands—they can only be connected by the tether, and the guide must not push, pull, or otherwise propel the visually impaired athlete.

Over time, the two have built a strong bond, and now "I trust my guide more than I trust myself," Rakshitha said. They won gold medals at the 2018 and 2023 Asian Para Games and received a hero's welcome when they returned to Rakshitha's village. She described with a laugh how those who had once mocked her organized a parade for her, cheering and waving flags.

Rakshitha became the first blind Indian woman to qualify for the Paralympic Games in the 1500m event and competed in Paris with Rahul in 2024. They missed out on a medal in France, but another visually impaired Indian woman who qualified for Paris, sprinter Simran Sharma, made it to the podium, bringing home a bronze medal.

Simran is partially sighted, and when she first started running, she ran alone. But in 2021, when Simran participated in the Tokyo Paralympics, she veered off the track and realized that if she wanted to continue running, she would need a guide.

But finding a guide proved challenging. "It can't be just any athlete. You need someone whose technique matches yours and who runs just as fast as you," she explained. Simran eventually found a young athlete named Abhay Kumar, who trained in the same location as her. The 18-year-old was on a break from competition, and guiding Simran was an opportunity for him to gain experience in international events.

"They sent me videos, and after watching them, I thought, 'I learn quickly, this should be easy,'" he said. "But when I ran for the first time, I found it very difficult." Every movement had to be synchronized.

Simran and Abhay did not have time for extensive practice before their first international competition—the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships (held in Japan), which was just weeks after they met. Their first race, the 100m event, ended in disaster. "Neither of us really understood the rules," Simran said. Abhay "thought he had to stop to let me cross the line first, so he stopped completely." They were disqualified because he was supposed to keep going and cross the line right after her.

But when they competed in the 200m event, they knew what to do and won a gold medal. Simran became a world champion in the T12 category. Riding on this momentum, they participated in the Paris Paralympics. They finished fourth in the 100m event but won a bronze medal in the 200m event, making Simran the first visually impaired Indian woman to win a Paralympic medal.

But Simran is worried about how long Abhay will be her guide. He has his own career to consider. While guides receive medals when their partners win competitions, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) says it cannot provide guides with salaries, cash rewards, or offer them long-term career paths. "All we can do is support their short-term needs, such as their food, accommodation, transportation, and training facilities," said Mr. Satyanarayana, the PCI's national athletics coach, who goes by only one name.

Rakshitha and Simran now both have sponsorship deals, which help fund their training. They pay their guides themselves and share any prize money they win with them. But Rahul and Abhay hope for more support from the government and want to be allowed to apply for public sector jobs reserved for athletes—just like the athletes they partner with.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding her future with Abhay, Simran is already looking ahead to the next Paralympics in Los Angeles. "I won't rest until I change the color of this medal," she said, hoping to win a gold medal next time. Rakshitha also hopes to win a medal next time, with Rahul by her side. "She has to win a medal," he said. "There are many people like her in the village. They don't understand sports and the possibilities. Rakshitha will be their role model."