VILLUPURAM: It is not yet dawn in Villupuram but 16-year-old R Subashree has already stretched and done a few warm-up exercises at the district Government Arts College. From 5 am to 7 am, the youngster with a hearing impairment sprints across the ground. Blink, and she's finished her lap in a lightning flash.
The Class 10 girl slows down but she's not done. Next up is the daily dose of self-motivation, and preparing herself mentally. This has been her daily routine for the past six years.
Thanks to her resolute training regimen and grit, the teenager has won gold medals in nearly all athletic sports tournaments she attended so far. She's just added four gold medals to her house, filled with trophies. At the recent state-level deaf junior and sub-junior sports championship in Chennai on November 27, she secured first place in 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, and long jump, in the under-16 category.
If Subashree dashes like fire on the ground, she swims rapidly underwater with ease. She bagged gold at the November 15 state-level swimming competition held for students by the school education department in Kallakurichi. Moreover, she swam under the general category.
Disability has never held her back from her achievements. "I feel happy, so do my family and friends. Sports is all that I know since childhood. This disability has never bothered me. I can focus more with no distraction, actually," she told TNIE, in a her own style of sign language.
Her father, R Rajarathinam (50), has been nurturing the dream of putting her name in the national sport domain. The small grocery shop owner said, "she was born hearing-impaired with only 10% hearing. So, I trained her in sports from the age of 10 to help her feel confident, mentally and physically. She has been active and ready for sports, always. Through this, she will have opportunities in education and employment, surpassing her disability."
While the youngster lacks a coach, she regularly turns to her Physical Education teacher from MRIC government school, S Sophia. "Subashree will be representing Tamil Nadu in the national level swimming competition to be held early next year. She is the only hearing and speech-impaired student contesting in the tournament while the rest are general students. *(will she be the first to do so?)* This is her dream as she always wanted to participate in bigger tournaments," added Sophia.
Sports aside, she has a love for numbers and science, and she writes decidedly on paper. Subashree opens her arms wide to explain that language subjects were much too lengthy, while the other two were crisp and easy to learn. "Long essays and chapters are boring to read," she said.
Her dream is to head to the Olympics. On the international stage, she hopes to sprint lightning-fast and bag golds in 100, 200, 400-metre races, and secure more medals at swimming competitions.