India’s account opened in World Games 2023, T Vishal got first success in powerlifting

Berlin. The account of the Special Olympics India team in the World Games 2023 is open with a silver medal. In Powerlifting, T. Vishal won the first medal for India this year. Apart from Vishal, many other athletes have been successful in making it to the finals of their respective events. The 16-year-old Vishal from Puducherry won silver medals in men’s squat (122.50kg), deadlift (155kg), bench press (85kg) and combined to add India to the medal tally at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.

Encouraged by his parents to participate in sports along with his studies, Vishal really took to sports only after watching the Paralympic Games. He immediately asked his parents to find him a coach who could teach him technique and the basics of the game. Being passionately involved with the sport, Vishal also scoured the internet to find videos that could help him improve. From here on, the sport became a dangerous obsession for Vishal.

When Vishal’s father came to know about his son’s passion, he found out about Special Olympics India. He talked to the coaches and director in the area and asked if there was a way to include them in the program. However, there was always resistance to these things within the house as Vishal’s mother is a school teacher. His own family pressured him not to easily accept that Vishal was a special needs athlete.

SO Bharat Puducherry Area Direct Chitra Shah says, “Still, when we discuss his results or talk to him about the fact that he is a child with special needs, there is often some resistance shown by his mother Is. We got him to not only accept that but to allow Vishal to come and play with us, as well as give him the freedom to enjoy the game within our program. This will help him get better while performing with his peer group. Also, he will be able to adjust socially.

Vishal’s coach and Chitra say that Vishal’s development has been delayed and his sense of self-identification has improved a lot since he got into sports. Lifting heavy weights, well beyond the capabilities of most children his age, has pushed the limits of his physical abilities and helped him interact with the world around him. And now that she has won the silver medal, the first message and love has come from the mother, who looked beaming with joy and pride as she expressed her feelings while talking on the phone.

Vishal has set the tone and following this, many other Indians have also joined the medal race. Several Indians have qualified for the finals in various sports. On the track front, 800m runners Asif Malanur (Level B), Soham Rajput (Level C) and Gitanjali Nagvekar (Level D) have reached the finals of their events while Libin Mallika Rajkumar (Level B) has advanced to the finals in 200m. Have arrived. Similarly, the men’s 4x400m team has also qualified for the finals.

Six of the 11 swimmers who reached the semi-finals in pool have made it to the finals of their events. In the men’s section, Madhav Madan (25m breaststroke, Level A and 25m freestyle, Level A), Dinesh Shanmugam (50m breaststroke, Level B, 25m freestyle, Level A), Abdul Rehman (50m breaststroke, Level B, 25 25m Freestyle Level A) and Tinu Monsi (25m Freestyle, Level A) have qualified for the finals of their respective events.

In the women’s section, Prarthana (25m freestyle, Level A), Alina Anthony (50m freestyle, Level B) have a chance to win medals in the finals of their events. Anthony, Shanmugam and Rahman will have their finals on June 20. Similarly, several divisional events in athletics, swimming, power lifting, table tennis and roller skating will also be held throughout the day with several medals at stake. In addition to Games-related actions, the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program continues throughout the Games. The program provides free health screenings, education and training to improve the care and well-being of persons with intellectual disabilities.

Healthy athletes in this program also provide training and hands-on experience to students while serving as health care professionals. This enables them to fine-tune their approach to caring for and communicating with persons with intellectual disabilities. To date, Special Olympics has trained more than 300,000 individuals in 60 countries, and has partnered with more than 150 universities to continue this work.