yours to run with you... at the finish. for rakshitha, that is rahul. for simran, abhay. but it's not easy for two bodies to run as one. translation: something happened, and we got - disqualified in the 100m race at the world championship. for an athlete who is a woman and blind, and an orphan raised how do you believe? translation: people | would say, "she's blind. she is a waste." because what's in it for them? we won't get any cash award or anyjob also.

at the paris paralympics, dream, train and become champions? idyllic and very remote. nestled in the lush green hills of southern india, it's not easy for us to reach the small village of guddanahalli. this is where rakshitha raju was born. translation: when i was two years old, i lost my mother. i at ten years, i lost my father. their disabilities meant they formed a strong bond.

translation: she is disabled and so am i. i people said many things to me, but my grandma asked me to not worry or think too much. with you always." as different, even inferior, and they found a way to tell each other that they were not. while at rakshitha's home, her brother helped bridge the language barrier. translation: my grandmother says, growing up, she didn't- have parents. neither did rakshitha. she says she doesn't want rakshitha to end up like her. rakshitha thrived

on this strength. where she could access better resources. but to compete on the world stage, what she needed the most was a dedicated guide runner. "and cannot see the track?" she needed to put full faith in her guide and in the tether that would bind and protect them as they ran full throttle. translation: i can't see anything, so i believe - in my guide runner more than myself. the guide and i hold on to the tether and that protects me when i fall. ra kshitha was lucky. she found rahul.

what guide running required. on a track and which line they have to run. when they are approaching a curve, he has to tell them to turn. when a competitor is crossing in front, he has to tell them this is rahul now, but ten years back, rahul had never met an athlete with visual impairment, let alone know what a guide runner is. he was a middle—distance runner who had participated when a turn of fate brought him face—to—face with shavaad, an athlete with visual impairment in need of a guide runner. translation: i ran as a guide | runner with shavaad at the 2014 asian para games in incheon. he won a bronze medal.

that is when i realised that if the athlete wins, i win a medal for the country, too. i felt proud. because there weren't many coaches for them. this is the asian games medal, which he won... a new world opened up. they ran together and won gold at the 2018 asian para games. he started coaching other girls with visual impairment and able—bodied athletes to be their guide runners. soon, he realised the challenges. translation: we can instruct able-bodied athletes _ about warm—up exercises and other drills even before but with visually impaired

athletes, we have to be on the ground with them. we have to show them how to do each exercise, make them do it with us, like lifting weights or knee exercises. they need to feel the movement and understand the posture for the bench presses, etc, because if they don't do it properly, they can get injured. it's early 2024, and simran sharma is training for the paris paralympics. up, up, up! she is partially sighted. translation: i can see you, but my vision weakens - right now, blurred. only if i try to focus very hard, i will be able to make

out who you are. in 2021, she became the first indian woman to qualify for the 100m race at the tokyo paralympics. but when she ran, she couldn't follow her line. her vision had deteriorated. but in the middle, there is a line that bends. when i ran, i ran to the left. like in the tokyo paralympics, i didn't know that i had moved into the lane next to mine. as soon as i realised what had happened, i came back to my lane. but they said, "now you need a guide runner." three! one! two! for simran, her husband became the reason she not only pursued athletics but also aimed for the top. she met gajendra while training and he became her coach. "what do you want from life?" and she said, "i want to run." but i had decided that.

i will take her all the way to the paralympics. the government body for developing para sport in india says it cannot train guide runners and provide them nice. perfectly match, simran finally spotted a young athlete — abhay. he had won a bronze in the 200m sprint at the asian under—18 athletics championship in 2023. abhay seemed to be a good fit for simran. a guide runner. born in a family with modest means in a small town

with visual impairment. translation: a normal citizen won't know about para - athletes or paralympics. even i didn't know about blind runners. i am a fast learner, and after watching them, i thought i'll easily do it, but it's very translation: there was a nervousness. l i thought, "how would i do it?" because it's not easy to run with another person. on the inside moves less and the one on the outside moves further. but when i'm running with her, i'm on her outside. so i have to change that action. translation: my posture changes on a curve. - when i run, my body arcs and then doesn't straighten. it keeps moving

in an arced manner. the guide runner is an important support in this situation because his body remains straight at all times. so, my body also aligns and straightens itself while running with him. and it all got tested when abhay and simran ran together at the 2024 world para athletics championships. they struck gold. simran became the world champion in the 200m t12 category. but the other race they ran ended in heartbreak. in the 100m race at the world championship. so we didn't realise. he didn't know and i didn't understand either. so he stopped completely and let me go ahead, which meant we got disqualified.

i do. now, i'm in top speed and she's in top speed, too. i have to let her get ahead of me just before the finish line, not allow other athletes to get ahead of her, but let her get ahead of me. abhay and simran have trained together for two months only. they also lost time when abhay got injured while training there is a lot to learn before they are fully synchronised, translation: it's allj going good right now. i need to stay fit. abhay needs to stay fit, too.

our fitness is very important. no—one should get injured. if either of us get injured, it's like one body getting every athlete i met had their own reasons for opting to be a guide runner, like tabres, who had taken me to meet rakshitha's family. a middle—distance runner. i practised for four years but then had to stop - tabres khan got a second lease of life in sports through rakshitha's coach rahul, who introduced him to the concept of guide running. translation: i couldn't get an individual medal. for the country on my own. that's why i trained there. training and runningj with them felt good. an athlete and guide runner�*s personal bond runs deep. but every guide runner i spoke with highlighted the need to be treated at par with the athlete

by sports bodies — quotas injobs in the public sector. think of their families, - about earning money for them. there is no provision- forjobs for guide runners. india doesn't have those rules yet. . they don't give cash - prizes to guide runners — only to the para athletes. no money? the government body, the paralympic committee of india, doesn't have a plan to give any incentives to guide runners. as pci, as the government, what incentives... translation: | asked - the government to treat guide runners as coaches.

from the government that is equivalent to 50% of the athlete's cash prize, and the same should be given to guide runners. with the guide runners, too — some percentage of it. the need for guide runners starts very early, when the potential for athletics is spotted in a child at their school. just as it was for rakshita, it is for shanthi... ..who is studying at a government—run school for the visually—impaired in the north indian city shanti's lifejourney is not unique. translation: | came | here when i was in ninth grade, in 2021. before that, i studied in delhi. i come from madhya pradesh. my parents still live there. i live here in this hostel. children with partial

or full visual impairment, especially from working—class families, are often sent away to hostels, as parents do not have the resources to support them. here — friends. accordion plays excited chatter they sing they also get together to keep track of the sporting calendar, using screen—reading software on their phones — just as low—vision students become guide runners for those with no vision in the school. translation: it becomes a problem when both go i and the guide compete in national games. - they may have practised - together, but they would now be so, the guide is running -

for the vision—impaired athlete exhausted. and that poses a challenge. ready? yes. begin. the uncertainty about getting a guide runner will only increase when she finishes school. translation: as soon as i start running fast, | my vision blurs. i'm in the 12th grade right now and get the support of guide runners. but after leaving here, it will become very difficult, it will have an impact on my performance. her fragile dream's alive, hoping against hope.

one step could be to break silos. it's none other than cricket legend sachin tendulkar putting his weight behind that. translation: the visually—impaired participants are the real heroes of this event. impairmentare running, and so are able—bodied athletes. patel. she works with a multinational company and began running my aim with guide running is that the visually impaired are able to participate in races at an equal, when bhumika patel ran all the six major world

of running communities — and one reason was the lack of guide runners. it was like more of pity, sympathy and, you know, like, "oh, ifeel sorry for you," that type of things were happening. we tell them, "these guys are... "you know, equally, they are able to do everything." it's a thriving community now, with the champions championing them. what an inspiration! at the paralympics in rio dejaneiro in 2016. ..continues to inspire a lot... translation: that - experience was very nice. it sparked a hope, because sport for the visually impaired was in a very bad state at that time, so i hoped that would change.

and we see that change today. for the paralympics. awareness about para athletes and higher commitment by the government and corporate sector towards para sports in the 2024 paris paralympics. congratulations, team! a shift took place, and the motley group of guide runners here, which include formerjournalists, homemakers and budding sportswomen, are a result of that. i came across a few visually—impaired runners and their guide runners, and that is when i started like that." we'd also seen a lot of visually—impaired climbers climbing very big peaks, and it's really inspiring, they have only come together for a day of running, and not for sustained training

for an elite competition. and the winner. in this category... small wins making way for large strides. the hope — that increased visibility may lead to more they cheer it's also the first time i see women taking on the role of guide running. going to run with the visually—impaired. i will also get the medal. so, the amount of recognition and all the amount of effort, the kind of explaining that they have to do to their own coaches and to their family members is quite huge. simran�*s journey has been quite different. her husband's support has meant that she's able to single—mindedly focus on training. the family still had expectations about her role as a daughter—in—law

and them having children soon after marriage. people said, "we'll see what you achieve. "you will end up wasting all this time. "you have accumulated so many loans just to train your wife. "why are you committed to this? after the missed opportunity in the tokyo paralympics, this time, she had to return with a medal. every time! this is my medal, gold medal. to her heart — in 2018, at the asian para games, what was the reaction in her village? i will show some videos

that are in my mobile. seeing rakshita, many people wanted to inspire and do sports. in district, so many schools and colleges were there. everyone came and congratulated her. really special. yeah. and that's you? yeah. yeah, yeah. on their return. he asked what it was. to my guide. "i was using this tether when i won the gold medals "in the 2018 asian games and 2022 asian games. "i'm very happy and giving it to you." he said he was very happy, and he said he hoped next time, i will win a paralympic medal. yes.

yet hope remains, because rakshita has the certainty of a dedicated guide runner and coach in rahul, who is focused on being part of her ambition to reach the top and win. they don't know much about sport. - she should be a role - model for other people, other athletes, so they might get motivated to come out i and participate in sport - and get medals for the country. at the paris paralympics. they were well beaten in the 100m. but in the 200m race, they won bronze and made history. simran became the first indian woman with visual impairment to win a paralympic medal.

take any pressure. " so, i ran. and i didn't even know about the finish till my guide told me we ran my personal best timing — 24.7 seconds. translation: when i saw that she'd won a medal, i i couldn't stop myself. ijumped down from the stands with the indian flag. but the ioo—metre loss is a sore point, and gajendra's concerned that simran and abhay had very little time to prepare. translation: abhay was with us for only two months, _ and he suffered an injury in that time, too. we got very little time to work out. you visited us, you saw it. i feel that we need at least two years of dedicated training level. the uncertainty about their guide runner remains. abhay has his own budding

career, so will he be able to continue? because for her, this win is not enough. that's my dream. or if you can dream it, you can do it. it's a shared dream. and with two minds and two bodies driving it, they are determined to make it a reality. hello there. we've got a wintry mix of weather

settling snow will be mainly confined to the hills, lower levels seeing the rain, and, in fact, it will be reverting back to rain across southern areas as we pick up some less cold air. this area of low pressure is the culprit, pushing bringing the windy weather. but you'll notice it also bring some lighter colours across the country for this weekend, cold weather returns around this of england and wales. mainly rain, central and southern areas, but we'll see accumulating snow across the hills of wales — i—scm here — and some snow, perhaps, for the pennines, certainly the south pennines across the peak district. some of this snow getting in a little bit further north as well, perhaps southern scotland at times. but the rest of scotland and northern ireland will see clear skies, a sharp frost in places. and east, where we have the cloud, the breeze and the rain. so for saturday, it's a rather grey picture. we'll have further spots of rain across england and wales, a bit

of wintriness on the pennines, maybe some wintry showers for eastern scotland. the best of the sunshine, again, across this northwest corner, and perhaps some brightness developing across the south—east later in the day. one or two rain showers here. to what we've had today. temperatures range from around six to eight or nine degrees. so that's how saturday is looking. through saturday night, it looks like that cloud there'll still be a few spots of rain and hill snow across northern england and into southern scotland. where skies are clear, then we're likely to see frost and maybe some fog, because the winds will be lighter. where we hold on to the cloud, then generally above freezing. so for sunday, high pressure starts to build back in. we're drawing an easterly wind again across the country. sunday, i think, looking like being the better day of the weekend, perhaps drier and a bit brighter. should be more sunny spells around, but some areas could stay cloudy all day. and temperatures 6—9 degrees — that's a little above the seasonal norm. but into next week, temperatures drop below the seasonal norm.

but there will still be some rain and some hill snow across central, northern and eastern areas.

live from washington, this is bbc news. president trump restates his proposal that the us could take over gaza, saying israel would hand over the strip after fighting ends. panama accuses the united states of spreading lies and falsehoods about gaining access to its canal free of charge.

and — despite denmark's insistence that greenland is not for sale, he believes the us will gain control of the territory. this week, donald trump's latest proposal that the us take control of gaza, move its people elsewhere, and turn it into the "riviera of the middle east" has sparked global criticism. but this isn't the first time the president has floated bold territorial ambitions since returning to the white house. from demanding that denmark sell greenland to threatening to reclaim the panama canal, to even suggesting that canada should become america's 51st state — "america first" agenda, with critics calling it