{
  "id": 3405375,
  "title": "The Courage Run: Inside the Army’s Paralympic Node",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/the-courage-run-inside-the-armys-paralympic-node",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T02:30:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/long-reads/the-courage-run-inside-the-armys-paralympic-node-10849559/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2017, the Army Paralympic Node was established with the mission of providing hope to soldiers who have suffered life-altering injuries. The Node, located in Pune, India, specializes in training Armymen with permanent injuries to become elite athletes. One such athlete is Hokato Sema, who lost his left leg below the knee in a land mine blast while serving in the 9 Assam Rifles. Sema, now 42, is a bronze medalist in the men's F57 shot put event at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. He is currently one of the most distinguished athletes at the Node, alongside his teammates Soman Rana and Shubham Juyal, who won gold and silver in the same category at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.\n\nThe Army Paralympic Node is a center of excellence that identifies and trains Armymen with life-altering injuries in various sports. It was founded by Colonel (Retd) Gaurav Dutta, who had his left leg amputated after stepping on a mine in 2001. Dutta recognized the potential of sport in helping these soldiers regain their lives and became the Node's first Officer in Charge when it was established in 2017. The Node recruits athletes from two centers in Pune - the Army's Artificial Limb Centre (ALC) and the Spinal Cord Injury Centre (SCIC) - and currently has 53 Paralympic athletes spread across four cities. The Node's coaches usually select athletes based on their body structure, with those having a more muscular build chosen for sprint events.\n\nThe primary challenge faced by the Node's coaches is motivating soldiers to come to the center after experiencing a life-changing injury. However, the soldiers' inherent mental strength helps them through this process. The Node provides peer-to-peer counseling, where experienced athletes guide those who have recently lost a limb. The ultimate goal of the Army Paralympic Node is to give hope to these soldiers and provide them with a direction for the rest of their lives.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Army Paralympic Node established in 2017 to aid injured soldiers.",
    "Hokato Sema, 42, bronze medalist in Paralympic F57 shot put.",
    "Node trains 53 athletes across Pune and four other cities."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Army Paralympic Node's holistic approach to rehabilitation empowers soldiers with life-altering injuries to transcend their physical limitations and regain a sense of purpose through elite athletic achievement.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}