For 13-year-old Abhirami Krishna U S, being differently-abled in no way stops her from going for the gold time and again. The latest feather in the cap of this class 9 student of Government VHSS for the Deaf, Jagathy is the first place in the 100 m hurdles that she claimed at the ongoing south sub-district athletics meet at Central Stadium here.
Having participated in three events in the junior girls’ category in the meet, she seeks to qualify for the upcoming district-level competition, to be held in November. But it may be all in a day’s work for Abhirami, who has participated, and won, in sporting events at the state and national levels as well.
In the 18th National Games for the Deaf held at Bangalore in April, for instance, she managed to clinch the first place in the 200 m race, and also helped her team to win two relay races - the 4x100m and 4x400m.
Abhirami qualified for the nationals having triumphed at the state level, winning the gold in the 200 m and 400 m race at the last state games for the deaf that took place in Wayanad. She had also claimed the second spot in long jump in that meet.
The young athlete, it seems, has inherited her sporting talent from her father, Unnikrishnan V S, who works as an electrician in the Army camp at Pangode here. Like his daughter, he had also won first place in 100 m hurdles in the National Games for the Deaf in 1989, and also participated in the world games the same year.
Abhirami’s teachers and relatives are all praise for her.
“Abhirami is a smart and dedicated girl, equally competent in sports as well as studies,” said Chitralekha, physical education teacher of the school. Her class teacher, Usha Kumari, too echoes this sentiment, adding that she was very proud of her student.
From what her teachers say, it appears that the sporting gene runs in the family - Abhirami’s sister, Athira, in the same school as her, is also as good at sports. While Abhirami is into athletics, Athira prefers badminton. Both sisters, however, share an equal love for chess.
The two stay with their parents, who are both differently-abled, at the Military Engineer Services (MES) staff quarters at Pangode.