"she's blind. she is a waste." finding a guide runner is especially hard in india, because what's in it for them? we won't get any cash award or anyjob also. so, then, how do simran and rakshitha compete at the paris paralympics? dream, train and become dream, train and become champions? champions? idyllic and very remote. idyllic and very remote. nestled in the lush green hills of southern india, it's not easy for us to reach it's not easy for us to reach the small village of the small village of this is where rakshitha guddanahalli. this is where rakshitha raju was born. raju was born. translation: when i was two

years old, i lost my mother. i at ten years, i lost my father. at ten years, i lost my father. then it was only me and my grandma.

she didn't have parents. she says she doesn't want rakshitha to end up like her. rakshitha thrived on this strength. after being spotted as a talent after being spotted as a talent by her physical education by her physical education teacher in her village school, teacher in her village school, she moved to bangalore, she moved to bangalore, where she could access where she could access better resources. better resources. but to compete on the world stage, what she needed the most was a dedicated guide runner. was a dedicated guide runner. translation: i kept asking, "how do i run, as i'm blind i "and cannot see the track?" "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. i have a lot of confidence in my tether. the guide and i hold on to the tether and that protects me when i fall. ra kshitha was lucky. she found rahul. he was a coach of athletes with visual impairment and knew what guide running required. translation: he should know the rules about running - 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 so they can put in a little more effort. 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 at the national games and was

recovering from an injury 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. then i slowly shifted to training para athletes because there weren't many coaches for them. this is the asian games medal, which he won... a shared international medal for the guide runner was a game—changing revelation. rahul had finally got what he had dreamt of. a new world opened up. shavaad introduced rahul to rakshitha. they ran together and won gold at the 2018 asian para games. rahul was driven to do more now. 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 they go out on the track. 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. when she started running, simran ran alone.

athletics but also aimed for the top. translat'on: 1,-1 - ..,:j ju q 7.7.77” ...7 translation: i had asked simran even before our marriage, - "what do you want from life?" "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. for simran, despite training in the country's capital, it was hard to find a guide runner. the government body for developing para sport in india says it cannot train in india says it cannot train guide runners and provide them guide runners and provide them with a long—term career path. with a long—term career path. nice. nice. after a few false starts after a few false starts where the speed or style where the speed or style didn't perfectly match, didn't perfectly match, simran finally spotted simran finally spotted a young athlete — abhay. a young athlete — abhay. he had won a bronze in the 200m sprint at the asian under—18 athletics championship in 2023. athletics championship in 2023.

abhay seemed to be a good fit for simran. he was keen for more exposure, but he had never been a guide runner. born in a family with modest means in a small town in central india, abhay had never even met an athlete with visual impairment. translation: a normal citizen won't know about para - athletes or paralympics. even i didn't know about blind runners. when i ran for the first time, they sent me videos. i am a fast learner, and after watching them, i thought i'll easily do it, but it's very different in practice. translation: there was a nervousness. l i thought, "how would i do it?" because it's not easy to run with another person. translation: when we run on a curve. _ the hand 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. if i move my hand short, then i'll end up blocking her,

translation: it was our first competition together, - so he stopped completely and let me go ahead, which meant we got disqualified. translation: so i learnt that i don't have to pull her. - now, i'm in top speed and she's in top speed, too. the finish line, but let her get ahead of me. they also lost time when abhay got injured while training and needed rest and treatment to recover.

abhay needs to stay fit, too. if either of us get injured, it's like one body getting injured. to meet rakshitha's family. a middle—distance runner. to the concept of guide running. translation: i couldn't

get an individual medal. that's why i trained there. translation: basically, | guide runners have to also no money. satyanarayan is the national coach for para athletes and had the government body, the paralympic committee

to guide runners. runners as coaches. of the athlete's cash prize, with the guide runners, too — some percentage of it. in a child at their school. just as it was for rakshita, it is for shanthi... dehradun, a five—hour drive from delhi.

translation: i came here when i was in - ninth grade, in 2021. i live here in this hostel. children with partial or full visual impairment, to support them. here — friends. using screen—reading software on their phones — just as low—vision students become guide runners for those

translation: it becomes a problem when both go i running in individual events too. - so they would get very exhausted. i and that poses a challenge. ready? yes. begin. the uncertainty about getting a guide runner will only increase when she finishes school. my vision blurs. i'm in the 12th grade right now and get the support of guide runners.

but don't get them for the actual competition, it will have an impact on my performance. on a rain—soaked day at the mumbai marathon, it's none other than cricket legend sachin tendulkar are the real heroes of this event. with visual impairment are running, initiative called guide runners india, founded by bhumika patel.

to stay fit, but it soon became a passion. are able to participate in races at an equal, when bhumika patel ran all the six major world and one reason was the lack of guide runners. like, "oh, ifeel sorry for you," that type but then we do the education, we do the workshops where we tell them, "these guys are... it's a thriving community now, what an inspiration! ankur dharma is india's first blind athlete to participate

at the paralympics in rio dejaneiro in 2016. it sparked a hope, bad state at that time, so i hoped that would change. for the paralympics. by the government and corporate sector towards para sports followed. from four medals in that 2016 paralympics, india won 29 in the 2024 paris paralympics. a shift took place, and the motley group of guide and their guide runners, and that is when i started

asking my dad, "you know, "i want to do something like that." we'd also seen a lot of visually—impaired climbers and the winner. in this category... small wins making way for large strides. they cheer on the role of guide running. and so they will be the ones getting the medal. so, the amount of recognition and all the amount of effort,

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 soon after marriage. but simran wasn't facing them alone. "you should bring up children and live like a normalfamily. "why are you going against society? "why are you allowing her to run in skimpy clothes?"

very good. every time! this is my medal, gold medal. to her heart — in 2018, at the asian para games, seeing rakshita, many people wanted to inspire and do sports. everyone came and congratulated her. yeah. yeah, yeah. in 2023, they bagged their second gold medal at the asian para games and met prime minister modi on their return. i explained to him that the tether connects me

i will win a paralympic medal. yes. the top and win. translation: because there are many like her in villages, | they don't know much about sport. - at the paris paralympics.

they were well beaten in the 100m. 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 but the 100—metre loss is a sore point, and gajendra's and he suffered an injury in that time, too.

you visited us, you saw it. to reach perfection and be confident at the international level. the uncertainty about their guide runner remains. translation: i need to change this colour to gold. _ that's my dream. it's a shared dream. and with two minds and two bodies driving it,

hello. it felt really chilly, with temperatures well below and as well as that and the bitter air we had, to the bitter feel. now, at the moment, ourjet stream is running well are building high pressure to the north of the uk. we find ourselves on the southern flank of this area of high pressure, which is feeding in these bitterly cold easterly winds. it's going to be like that pretty much all week. now, at the moment, we have extensive clouds still with us, with rain and drizzle extensive too.

rain that you'll see. but that's how we start the day on tuesday — there will be little overall change in the weather picture for most of us through the rest of the day. still got those bitter easterly winds. will be hard to find. temperatures again 4—6 degrees quite widely. there'll be some areas on our eastern slopes that only areas of scotland, so you might well see a bit of sunshine temperatures 4—6 celsius for most. 0n into thursday, perhaps a few more breaks just developing around western fringes of england, wales, western scotland,

and we might see some rain arrive towards cornwall for our temperatures. by the end of the week, we do have a weather front into the high pressure, so it's going to barely move and it will weaken as we go through friday. areas for a time on friday. a few holes into the cloud. that's the latest. bye— bye.

protests in tel aviv after hamas postpones us president trump gives hamas an ultimatum under his gaza plan.

i'm steve lai. as president trump has given his own ultimatum for the future of the gaza ceasefire deal. he's told reporters that �*all hell is going to break out�* if all hostages currently held in gaza were not returned by saturday at 12 noon. he made the comments after a spokesperson of the ceasefire deal.