Murlikant Petkar Age, Wiki and Bio

Quick Info

Profession	Former Indian Athlete
Nationality	Indian
Date of Birth	01/11/1947
Age	76 years
Birthplace	Peth Islampur, Sangli, Maharashtra

Bio/Wiki

Full name	Murlikant Rajaram Petkar

Physical Stats & More

Height	5' 9"
Eye Color	Black
Hair Color	Black

Educational Qualification(s)

School	He did his schooling in his hometown
Class	5

Personal Life

Marital Status	Married

Relationships & More

Wife/Spouse	Name Not Known

Family

Father	Name Not Known (freedom-fighter)
Siblings	He has five siblings.
Children	Son - Arjun Petkar

Career

Sports	International Debut in the 1964 International Services Sports Meet, held in Tokyo.
Coach/Mentor	Jawahar (1968-1972)
Medals	Event: Summer Paralympics, held in Heidelberg, Germany in 1972 Medal: Gold Event: 3rd Commonwealth Paraplegic Games at Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970 Medals: Array Event: Raksha Medal in 1965 Event: Stoke Mandeville International Paraplegic Meet in 1969 Medal: Gold Event: Stoke Mandeville International Paraplegic Meet in 1971 Medal: Gold
Awards, Honours, Achievements	Best Swimmer Shield by Gen Manekshaw then Chief of Army Staff of Artificial Limb Centre Pune in 1971 Set a world record in 1972 in the 50 m freestyle swimming with a finishing time of 37.33 seconds Gaurav Padak by then Mayor of Pune N. B. Limaye in 1973 General Championship Cup for five consecutive years (1969-73) Special Prize for outstanding performance by Pune Jaycees in 1975 Shiv Chhatrapati Award by the Government of Maharastra in 1975 (This was the first award given to a disabled athlete in India) Honoured by the President of All India Mayors Council, Mr Thorat for being the National Champion for 7 Years straight (1968-76) and felicitated on 26 January 1976 in Pune Krida Pratishthan Award by Shri Vijay Merchant on 5 April 1979 Outstanding Sportsman Award by then Mayor of Pune in 1981 Honoured by the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) in 2018 Padma Shri Award by former President Ram Nath Kovind on 21 March 2018

Some Lesser Known Facts

Murlikant Petkar is a former Indian athlete who won a Paralympic gold medal in 1972.
He secured India’s first-ever gold medal in the Summer Paralympics Games and set a world record in the 50m freestyle swimming event.
After studying till the 5th standard in his hometown of Sangli, Maharashtra, he moved to Pune.
Petkar excelled in sports like wrestling, athletics, and hockey from a young age.
He joined the Indian Army as a private in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers.
In 1969, he was discharged from the Indian Army after participating in various service sports events.
Murlikant Petkar was paralyzed from the waist down in 1965 during the Indo-Pakistani War.
He took up swimming on the advice of a physiotherapist during his treatment in Mumbai.
Petkar worked at TELCO in Pune for almost thirty years starting in 1972.
The CBSE board included Petkar’s life story in the book 'Reading Literacy' in 2021.
In 2024, a film titled 'Chandu Champion' was released, inspired by Murlikant Petkar's life.