The North Zone Regional Abilympics 2025, widely known as the “Work Skill Olympics for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs),” concluded with a celebration of talent, resilience, and inclusion at the Atal Scientific Convention Center, Lucknow on Aug 2. The event brought together over 100 PwDs from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi, competing across 14 skill categories under ICT, Craft, Hospitality, and Services trades.
Organized by the National Abilympic Association of India (NAAI) in collaboration with Sarthak Educational Trust, and supported by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), TPCDT, and IndusInd Bank, the event highlighted how vocational excellence can empower PwDs and transform perceptions.
The competitions ended with a total medal tally of 15 — 4 Gold, 3 Silver, and 8 Bronze. Notable Gold medalists included Ghulam Mohd Magray, having Locomotor Disability from Jammu & Kashmir in Basket Making, Arti Rohilla from Delhi who has Locomotor Disability in Crochet, and Mohd Muzamid Hussain from Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir who is Visually Impaired in Massage Therapy Services and Sandeep Kumar Lucknow who is Hearing Impaired won a Gold in Cleaning Services.
Silver medals were secured by Bhagwati Devi, having Locomotor Disability from Himachal Pradesh in Crochet, Harsh Gaur, who is Hearing Impaired from Haryana in Cake Decoration, and Nitesh Kumar who is Visually Impaired from Delhi in Massage Therapy Services.
Bronze winners included Nirlesh, having Hearing Impairment from Kanpur in Desktop Publishing, Shivam Kumar who is Hearing Impaired from (UP) in Character Designing, Kaushalya Bisht who is Visually Impaired from Chamoli Uttarakhand in Hand Knitting, Eishnaa from New Delhi who is Hearing Impaired in Painting & Decoration, Prashant Gupta from Uttar Pradesh who is Visually Impaired in Cleaning Services, Komal Kumari who is Visually Impaired from Delhi in Massage Services, Suman Rawat who has Locomotor Disability from West Delhi in Hairdressing, and Budh Singh from Delhi who has Locomotor Disability in Fashion & Designing.
Applauding the initiative, Shri Narendra Kumar Kashyap, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare and Disabled Empowerment, Uttar Pradesh, said, “I applaud the Abilympics as a strong step toward skilling and job mapping for Divyangjan. The state is eager to collaborate with organizations like Sarthak to achieve a larger vision of sustainable empowerment. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, we are investing ₹1950 crore in early interventions, vocational training, and livelihood opportunities to ensure every Divyangjan benefits from the state’s progress.”
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitender Aggarwal, Secretary-General of NAAI and Founder & CEO of Sarthak Educational Trust, stated, “This is more than a competition. It’s a movement to unlock economic dignity, confidence, and careers for millions of PwDs across India. With the new categories, we are unlocking creative and tech-forward careers for PwDs. Our mission to empower 10 million PwDs and facilitate over 2 lakh sustainable job placements by 2027 drives our every effort.”
“Massage therapy is a vast and enriching field, much like an ocean with over 100 unique therapy techniques. In today’s world, where lifestyle issues like cervical pain are increasingly common, the relevance of massage services continues to grow. I truly believe that in the times to come, Ayurveda and traditional massage therapies will witness a strong resurgence”, shared Gold Medal winner Mohd Muzamid Hussain in Massage Therapy Services. He is from Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir and is Visually Impaired.
“I have been working in the Housekeeping Department at the Renaissance Hotel, Lucknow, for the past six years. It feels great to know that my work skills in this field have earned me a place at the Abilympics”, shared Sandeep Kumar from Lucknow who is Hearing Impaired and won a Gold in Cleaning Services.
Winners from the North Zone will now move forward to compete in the National Abilympics 2025 in Delhi this November, where the best talents will be selected to represent Team India at the 11th International Abilympics in Finland (2027).
