Swimming Against The Tide How Arpita Trains Odisha's Special Olympians
She could have followed path of personal achievement. Instead, Arpita Mohapatra chose a difficult road, one that lifts the intellectually-challenged, gives them a new identity.
Published : July 21, 2025 at 6:04 PM IST
By Bhawani Sankar Das
Bhubaneswar: If you have watched Bollywood's recent release Sitaare Zameen Par, you would have admired Aamir Khan as Gulshan Arora, a basketball coach who transforms the intellectually-challenged children and makes them earn an identity. But few know that Odisha has its own real-life Arpita Mohapatra, a 43-year-old national-level adventure athlete-turned-coach, who has taken up the responsibility of not only training the intellectually-disabled children to survive, but to shine and achieve accolades.
The sight of the swimming pool where Arpita trains in Bhubaneswar, would by all chances give you goosebumps. Children of various ages splash in swimming tubes, many just trying to flap hands and some flailing their limbs. A few manage to have a 'grip' on water to stay afloat while others try to imitate the more confident peers. These are not just any children but those who have learnt to live with intellectual disabilities, often tagged unteachable, too difficult, or aggressive. But with Arpita, they learn the rhythm of life through water.
Training the intellectually-challenged children is no mean task. It involves a lot of patience, emotional strength and empathy which Arpita seems to have in abundance. When these children were refused to be trained by others, Arpita saw potential and took them under her guidance.
A native of Amaria village of Khaira block in Balasore district, Arpita was the eldest of three siblings and showed keenness to get into sports from an early age. With father Gangadhar Mohapatra and mother Minati encouraging her, she started winning medals in running, football, and swimming.
However, swimming stayed as her focus for a long time. She would swim in the Kansabansa river near her home, despite frequent scolding by her parents due to the dangers of water current. After finishing high school in Baghua in 1999, she moved to Keonjhar and then to Bhubaneswar to pursue higher education. She was equally drawn to adventure sports after learning the ropes in the field and eventually turned a professional around 2001.
In 2007, she took to adventure sports full-time like mountain biking, skiing, scuba diving, paragliding and etched a spot in the Limca Book of Records for a 600-km cycling expedition from Kullu to Khardung La in 2011. But swimming still remained close to her heart.
Appointed as a swimming coach at Kalinga Stadium in 2011, she was the one who volunteered to train children with intellectual challenges. She chose the path as a mission, born out of her concern and conviction.
Today, Arpita is Odisha’s state coordinator and head coach for the Special Olympics. She has imparted training to children in swimming, cycling, skating, and beach volleyball. Not surprising, many of them have gone on to win national and international medals. Over a dozen have competed at the Olympics, winning 50 medals for Odisha alone.
“Swimming is hydrotherapy, a treatment that often works for the mentally-challenged. My son loves being in the water. Ever since he trained with Arpita, his behaviour has undergone changes which are noticeable. His sensory response, understanding, and decision-making have all changed. She gives her 100 percent to the kids,” says Priyadarshini Nayak, mother of a 10-year-old intellectually-challenged boy.
Arpita, reflecting on her journey with pride, says, “Setting a Limca Book of Records was a landmark for me, but nothing can beat the happiness that I get in seeing these children grow - mentally, emotionally, and physically - through sport.”
However financial support eludes her even when she has done everything possible within her reach to nurture the talent of the challenged. “Special Olympics require special preparations. We need to take everything - from physical fitness to nutrition - into account. Earlier, we used to get funding from Sports Authority of India (SAI) which we do not receive now. Even we have got no support from the Odisha government till now,” she says.
The Special Olympics movement, founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is different from the Paralympic Games. While the Paralympics focus on physically disabled athletes, the Special Olympics is meant only for those with intellectual disabilities.
Prakash Rath, Area Director of Special Olympics, Odisha, says children from Odisha have always made the state proud. “They belong to all districts. Sarita Rautray won gold in beach volleyball at the 2015 Los Angeles games while Sipra Priyadarshini clinched bronze in floor games at the Winter Olympics in Switzerland. We also saw Prabhat Baral win back bronze in cycling at the 2019 Abu Dhabi games.”
But despite challenges, Arpita is upbeat. “Training special children is different. They need more time, attention, and most importantly trust. But financial backing is lacking and that is a big hindrance because we are constantly struggling to meet basic training requirements,” Arpita explains.
Currently Arpita is training about seven to eight children. Of them, two have competed internationally. She is optimistic that things will change and she will continue training the intellectually-challenged.
"When I was an athlete swimming in village rivers, I never thought I would one day coach and shape Olympic dreams. But here I am with the trust that transformation will lead to trophies," signs off Arpita as she holds the hand of a child to take her for a session in water.
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