8 special children from Tiruchi bring laurels

December 13, 2013 01:24 pm | Updated May 26, 2016 09:59 am IST - TIRUCHI:

The participants of the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games being felicitated byRotary Club of Tiruchirapalli Rock City on Thursday. Photo: A. Muralitharan

The participants of the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games being felicitated byRotary Club of Tiruchirapalli Rock City on Thursday. Photo: A. Muralitharan

Eight special children from Tiruchi, who had returned recently after taking part in the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games held in Australia, were felicitated by Rotary Club of Tiruchirapalli Rock City, here on Thursday.

Seven out of the eight children were present, and they received citations from S. Gopal, governor, Rotary district 3000.

Mohanavel, Mani Balu, and Joel S. Varkey (Dolphin Special School); Divakar, Naveen Akash, and Arvind Subramani (Blossoms Opportunity School, Holy Cross College); Siril Robert (Vedivelli Special School); and Joseph Chkaravarthi (Asha Deepam Special School), participated in the Special Olympics held from December 1 to 7 in New Castle, Australia.

Three of the students won medals - Mohanavel had won silver medal in running and long jump, Joseph Chakravarthi bagged silver, and Mani Balu a bronze. The other five children secured fourth and fifth positions in different events.

Mr. Gopal thanked the teachers and the coach, and praised them for their unwavering support and dedication towards the children. “Special Olympians are in no way lesser than normal Olympians. In fact, Special Olympics help those with intellectual disability make friends and engage in sporting events. It brings out their hidden talents,” he said.

“Participation itself is a great achievement and the winners have gained immense self confidence. It is up to organisations such as Rotary Club to encourage, help, and support such special children in their endeavours,” he added.

Paul Devasagayam, area director-Tamil Nadu for the Special Olympics, commended the efforts of the special children. The coach, Sara Arockia Mary, was present.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.