In 1972, Murlikant Petkar won India its first-ever Paralympic gold medal in Heidelberg, Germany, for the 50 m freestyle swimming.

Back then, he had set a world record of blazing across the waters in an impressive 37.33 seconds.His career began in the Boys Battalion of the Indian Army, which saw him rise through the ranks to reach the war grounds of Pakistan in 1965.
A craftsman rank soldier in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), he was out for tea in the afternoon whena whistle was blown to indicate an aerial attack. He tried to rush back to his room but the firing had already started. When his army camp came under aerial
firing from Pakistani troops, he was left with multiple bullet wounds and was also run over by an army vehicle. The unfortunate incident rendered him a paraplegic for life. He still has a bullet in his spine.