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At the 2019 Special Olympics World Games, 17-year-old Sabita Yadav from Goa won a gold medal in the singles table tennis event and a silver medal in the doubles. What stands out about the teenager is that despite an intellectual disability, speech impediment and the fact that she took up the sport only in 2015, she hasn\u2019t let these obstacles come in her way. Sabita shares her story with NT KURIOCITY<\/p>\n
Maria Fernandes | NT Kuriocity<\/p>\n
Growing up with a congenital cleft palate, Sabita had difficulty in speaking and conversing with those around her was not easy. \u201cSince my speech was not clear, people did not understand what I was saying and I had to often repeat myself,\u201d she says. To add to this, she also has an intellectual disability which prevented her from going to a regular school.
\nComing from a family with financial difficulties, Sabita had to contend with other obstacles too. \u201cSince my mother is a single parent and I also have a brother, it was difficult for my mother to make ends meet. She used to work as a domestic help and do \u2018jhadoo-pocha\u2019 for a living,\u201d she says.
\nHowever, realising the importance of education, her mother admitted Sabita to Peace Haven School in Caranzalem. A special school, Peace Haven provides vocational training for older kids with intellectual disabilities. \u201cThe school had a different environment from what I was used to. My mother opted that I board there as it would be easier for me and her. I did miss home initially but I knew that it was for the best. Here I have learned many things like sewing, pottery and cooking. Also I have many friends now,\u201d she says. Sacrifice she says is important to achieve something in life.
\nBesides the various vocational subjects, Sabita was also introduced to sports like badminton, table tennis, etc. However, it was table tennis that she gravitated towards and says: \u201cMy local coach Ritesh introduced me to table tennis and it was definitely more fun.\u201d Her prowess at the game was soon evident and her name was put forward for the Special Olympics. A significant fact to note here is that the Special Olympics are similar to other international games where athletes have to go through the levels – clearing district, state, national and only then do they get selected for international competitions.
\nWhat followed for Sabita was hard work coupled with the determination to excel in the sport to the best of her ability and in the process better the situation of her family. \u201cWhen I wasn\u2019t living at the school I had to travel nearly an hour every day to Panaji to practice which was for about four hours,\u201d she says as she explains some of the obstacles she had to contend with. \u201cIt was also tiring and I had to take breaks while practicing but I wanted to compete,\u201d she adds. With the help of bare minimum explanations and many visual aids, she was soon ready and raring to go. Winning her medals, she says, was a dream come true.
\nAppreciation and gratitude are high on Sabita\u2019s list and she thanks all her teachers, coaches, nuns at her school, the Special Olympics Goa board and STARS, an NGO that helped her on her journey. \u201cIt is important to not give up and pursue your dream no matter who you are and where you come from,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
(Pic by: Hemant Parab)<\/p>\n
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[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.8″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″] At the 2019 Special Olympics World Games, 17-year-old Sabita Yadav from Goa won a gold medal in the singles table tennis event and a silver medal in the doubles. What stands out about the teenager is that despite an intellectual disability, speech impediment and the fact that she took up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aspire-inspire","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1622,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions\/1622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}