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Paralympian Mona Agarwal calls for built-in accessible infrastructure
Agarwal believes that accessible infrastructure should be default in our minds, and not an afterthought.
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Shinjini Ghosh - Tue, 24, Mar 2026
- 22:49 EDT
- 14
Paralympian Mona Agarwal / Wikimedia commons
Accessible infrastructure should be the default and not just based on requirement, said Mona Agarwal, Indian para shooter.
Speaking to New India Abroad on the sidelines of the Indiaspora Forum, Agarwal, who was a medalist at the 2024 Paralympics, said that the discussion around infrastructure still continues as there is currently a lack.
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“We are lacking because we are (still) discussing infrastructure. The infrastructure that we are talking about, the facilities and accessibility, should be by default in our minds. Whenever we develop any government offices or any building or any sports arena, there should be things in our mind that there should be accessibility there. We need a high-performance center for this,” Agarwal said.
Further, she emphasized, “That should be by default and not as per requirements.”
Agarwal said that during tournaments, discussions with players from other countries shed light on the difference between facilities provided, while stating that India was not too “far away.”
“We meet other participants and teammates. We have discussions over accessibility, possibilities, and facilities that their government is providing for them and our government is providing for us. We are not very far away,” she said.
Highlighting how participation has gradually increased over the decades, Agarwal said, “We can see that from 1972 to 2024 that the number of participants and the number of medals in para sports have increased. So definitely, the government has supported and internationally also we have received support. So, it’s good to get that support.”
Agarwal said that forums like Indiaspora are significant as discussions can be had with a global audience.
“This is a very good platform because we met with a global audience here. Being a para-athlete, it’s very difficult to get a global audience like this. So, the platform Indiaspora has provided is a very good one to express your views to a global audience and what you have faced, your experience and what exactly, according to you, you want the change to be,” Agarwal said.
Further, she added, “People who are physically challenged are actually mentally strong. So that is the reason they are getting medals. They are able to perform their best at the international level.”
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