Serving up hope: Woman polio survivor’s journey to table tennis glory in Pakistan

Taj Meena, a 24-year-old polio survivor, gestures during her table tennis practice match at the sports complex in Peshawar on September 4, 2024, during an interview with Arab News. (AN Photo)

• Taj Meena, 24, was affected by polio at 10 months old, resulting in paralysis of both legs
• She won a gold medal in KP’s provincial games and urges parents to vaccinate their children

PESHAWAR: Taj Meena, a 24-year-old polio survivor, recently shattered barriers by winning a gold medal in the provincial table tennis tournament for the disabled category in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Defying her paralysis, which has left her wheelchair-bound since childhood, she travels six kilometers daily from her home in Peshawar to a local sports complex, navigating both narrow alleys and societal norms that often restrict women’s activities outside the home.
Despite these challenges, Meena’s determination and passion for table tennis have led her to achieve the unthinkable. With the unwavering support of her family, she has turned her childhood dream into a reality, inspiring countless others with her resilience and triumph.
However, the absence of adequate resources in her family implies that her young nephew, Subhan Ullah Khan, has to selflessly push her wheelchair to the sports facility every day.
“I have spent a year over here,” she told Arab News in a recent conversation at the sports complex, surrounded by table tennis players briskly competing. “It was a passion for me since childhood [to play this game] ... When I come here, I feel very happy.”
She won the medal in the provincial contest in June, attributing her achievement to her mental strength.
“I’m mentally strong compared to other people,” she said. “I don’t think of myself as disabled.”
She said much like other table tennis players around her, who swiftly moved on their feet while playing against one another, she felt proud of myself.
Polio, a highly infectious disease, primarily affects children under the age of five by invading their nervous system, causing paralysis or even death.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the two countries where the disease remains endemic due to factors such as vaccine misinformation, which leads to parental refusal, and security concerns in various underdeveloped areas. This year alone, Pakistan has reported more than 10 polio cases, prompting the government to launch widespread vaccination campaigns.
Meena was affected by the disease when she was just 10 months old, resulting in paralysis of both her legs.
Her father, who supports a family of 12 and barely earns Rs1,300, or nearly $5, a day used to carry her to school on his back. However, this could not continue beyond the fifth grade, and she had to drop out.
Later, she joined a table tennis academy with her family’s consent, although community members sometimes objected to seeing her outside.
However, her gold medal changed the situation for her, inspiring many girls in the neighborhood to convince their families to enroll them in sports.
“In the neighborhood, there are girls who asked their fathers to get them enrolled [at the sports complex], but they stopped them,” Meena’s uncle, Zahir Shah Khan, told Arab News. “However, the girls insisted, saying, ‘If she can do it despite her disability, we can also do it and reach a better position.’ Then their fathers got them enrolled.”
Meanwhile, Meena urged all parents to get their children vaccinated with the anti-polio vaccine as a step to ensure a good life for them.
“Precaution is a good thing,” she added. “If things [vaccination] are done on time, one doesn’t face such disabilities, like someone losing a hand or a foot.”