Playing the field on a wing and a calliper

CHENNAI: They are not ordinary people. Their die-hard spirit and will to face challenges everyday is matchless. Their very presence on the Nehru Park grounds on Sunday morning was testimony to their strength of character. These 900-odd differently-abled people from padifferent rts of Tamil Nadu, gathered here to be part of the 11th State Level Sports meet organised for them by the Tamil Nadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust.A young orthopaedically-challenged couple, Ambikesvan and Mahalakshmi who had come from Erode along with their two children said, “We are every excited to be a part of this event. For us this is like an annual pilgrimage that we look forward to, where we meet many others like us.” Ambikesvan who won the second place in the last year’s event has set his sights on first place this time. Others like Karuppaswamy from Namakkal seemed confident that he would win a prize, though it was his first time here.The day’s event opened with the finals of the 50 metres walking with callipers and crutches for children aged between 10-14. This was followed by other categories like Shotput, Tricycle race, Wheelchair race, Cricket ball throw, Long jump and Kabaddi. The 900-member strong volunteer team organised by Shakthivel Venk a t - a r a m , MD and CEO of Cobra Legal Solutions, worked well to see to it that things moved on schedule. He said, “This is great experience for all us. When I started asking people if they would be interested in volunteering, I was amazed at the support I got from students and others.” Soundariya and Steffi, who volunteered said, “It w a s amazing to see the spirit of the people, and the love and concern they show for each other.” G Chidambaranathan, President of the Tamil Nadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust said, “Every year we organise this meet to encourage and bring out the sports talent of challenged people.Differently-abled sports persons are often ignored by the government.For them to compete professionally, they need the support of the government in terms of training equipment, sponsors, and also jobs which is not happening at all.” Simmachandran, Secretary of the trust, added, “There are about 150 physically-challenged people who have won medals in international sporting events meant for them. In the last two years, 63 of them had entered the seniority list for employment. So far no appointment has taken place. The matter is pending with Kannagi Packinanthan, Secretary to the Department for the welfare of the differentlyabled.We request them to make the appointments soon.” Boopathy, who been responsible for mentoring differently-abled athletes at the international level, observed that even at the school level, these children were excluded from participating at sports events.P Valarmathi, Minister of Social Welfare, promised to represent their issues with the Chief Minister.