Image Credit: Rich Kenworthy
Indian athletes have been participating at the World Transplant Games since 2011, with a few dedicated athletes putting together funds and travelling to represent their country. This situation continued till 2019, where a team of 14 athletes participated in the Newcastle Games, bringing home 7 medals.
Following the cancellation of the 2021 World Transplant Games due to the COVID 19 pandemic, ORGAN India was appointed as the Country Representative for India for the WTG 2023 by the World Transplant Games Federation. Armed with little else but hope and determination, ORGAN India worked with partners such as Manav Rachna University, Dinesh Vyas Public Charitable Trust, Geekay Winding, To the New and numerous others to train, fund, and support our athletes. In the early hours of April 14th, 2023, a team of 32 athletes (24 organ recipients and 8 organ donors) and 8 managers and volunteers, reached airports across the country on their way to represent India at the Games.
On the 16th of April 2023, Team India marched, flag held high, into the Optus Stadium in Perth for the opening ceremony of the World Transplant Games 2023. For this team, coming from vastly different socio-economic strata from across the country, just walking into the stadium felt like a victory. Many of them had come back from the brink of death, and to stand and be counted among an inspiring global community seemed like almost a dream. As chants of "Vande Mataram" and hope filled the air and the team felt unstoppable. However, no one was entirely prepared for what happened next.
There were a few experienced athletes in the Team in 2023, but for most it was the first time at an international sporting event. However, the first medal, a gold in the 5K Race, came in withing hours of the start of the Games. And this was just a taste of what was to come. Team India's champions defied all odds and surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. By the close of the Games, Team India had collected 35 medals. Apart from the medal haul, organ donor Viaybahadur Yadav returned with the 'Greatest Gift' award for best performance by a donor athlete.
Galvanized by their success, Team India returned from Australia and threw themselves headlong into training for the next Games in Dresden, Germany. Athletes from the 2023 team as well as newcomers inspired by the Team's performance in Australia attended a series of training camps and domestic and international competitions to prepare for 2025, in the hope of bettering their performance. By August 2025, Team India had swelled to a team of 57 athletes, including teams for basketball, football and volleyball.
The turnout in Dresden was even more spectacular, with Team India bringing home a staggering 63 medals across disciplines. It was also a year of many firsts, with Team India competing in previously uncontested events, such as Swimming, Cycling, Archery and Triathlon. Several events such as javelin throw and ball throw saw all-Indian podium finishes. Once again, an Indian donor, Jaskaran Singh was awarded the "Greatest Gift" Award for is performance at the Games.