Making her own mark

From being ignored in school to becoming one of the bests in the country in her field, the life A. Hindu seems like a fairytale. A differently-abled girl, she is now one of the most coveted athletes in the lesser-known field of adaptive sports.

Winning medals in the biggest tournaments held in the country doesn’t seem to be enough, as she’s setting her eyes on the international arena. Hindu speaks to us about her journey so far and her future aspirations.

“I hate people who show sympathy to me. Apart from the fact that I can only walk with my toes, I’m just a normal girl like any other,” says Hindu. Talking about how it all started, the athlete said that after seeing her feeling directionless in school, her physical education teacher, who had spotted her talent, brought her to the sporting arena, “I’d say that my life started when I was in Class VI. Though I knew that I was very athletic, I didn’t have a clue that I could reach greater heights with it. My sir brought me into this new world and it has kept me energetic ever since.”

One amazing aspect of Hindu is that she doesn’t restrict herself to one particular sport, but wants to explore everything possible. She participates in athletics, wheelchair basketball and even Badminton. She says, “It’s all because of my mom. She keeps asking me to try out new things. Because of her, I play five different sports.”

Talking about her training regime, she surprises us by saying that she doesn’t like to train much. She says, “I just keep myself happy by hanging around with friends, watching movies and eating good food. For me, a peaceful state of mind is the most important training. Apart from that, I just warm up regularly to keep my body in shape.”

When asked about her biggest achievements, she lists winning a gold and silver in the national event in Gujarat, and later emerging as one of the best players in the national women’s wheelchair basketball this year by guiding Tamil Nadu to a fourth spot finish, as her favourites. “This is just the beginning. My aim is to qualify for the Dubai international meet shortly, which will be my ticket to the all-important Special Olympics. I’m confident that I’ll win a medal.”