CHENNAI: A significant majority of our population have the privilege of being called ‘normal’ unlike those who, through no fault of their own and circumstances beyond their control, have to carry the tag of being ‘differently abled’, or ‘a special person’. However, despite the challenges and stigma that prevails in the society, G Surendar has made a name for himself.
Born with the intellectual disability that limits your basic cognitive skills, Surendar has stormed through all obstacles and in the process has established himself as one of the top ‘special’ basketball players in the country. His most recent achievement is getting selected for the Special Olympics World Summer games set to happen in Berlin.
Lucky to be born in a supporting family, Surender’s parents decided to embrace his condition. They chose to make him play basketball early on in his life, owing to his tall nature. Started as a distraction, they were quickly able to identify his talent as a potential basketball player. His father, Gopi, was all praises for his son and grateful that the sacrifices they had to put in as a family have finally paid off. “I cannot express in words how proud I am of my son, he has already exceeded all expectations,” he told this daily.
Surendar’s first spark of fame was when he got selected in the state trials with an impressive performance. It was only the beginning of many more things to come. From state trials, he quickly made his way to national selection camps, first in Puducherry, then to the mainstream national camp in Ahmedabad, making him the only person from Tamil Nadu to do so.
The proud father, recounting his journey from his very first day as a basketball player, says none of this would have been possible without the support he got from several people along the way.
“The doctors were aware of his situation, and only when they gave him the green light did I seriously consider his future as a basketball player. There are countless people who have supported him, but I want to mention two people who standout — Julia Vasanthi, Tamil Nadu area director, and his coach N Srinivasan. Without them my son wouldn’t be where he is today.” He also mentions that perhaps his biggest supporter — his mother. “It is not easy to take care of someone who needs tending 24x7, 365 days, but my wife did it and obviously a lot of credit goes to her too,” he added.
With awareness of disabilities — both physical and intellectual — increasing, Gopi also had some advice to give to the next generation of parents. “You should not see it as a burden, rather accept them for who they are and raise them like you would a normal child,” he signed off.