US government congratulates Coimbatore social worker for encouraging differently-abled athletes

Gunasekaran, a native of Coimbatore, who has been taking various initiatives through his foundation with the aim of promoting differently-abled sportspersons and creating sports academies for them, was praised by US Department of State as part of sports diplomacy.


Coimbatore: A youth from Coimbatore is being by US Department of State for taking various initiatives and helping differently-abled sportspersons.

Gunasekaran hails from Coimbatore. Having lost his father at an early age, he completed his schooling with the help of his uncle.

Later, he did his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Sona College of Technology in Salem. In 2008, he started working at US Technologies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

He was always active in organizing sporting events, playing cricket and volunteering, and joined Cognizant Technology Solutions in Coimbatore in 2010.

At this stage, Gunasekaran's experience of volunteering in para-sports events through Cognizant Outreach has understood that para-sports and the differently-abled need more support than just volunteers provide.

Due to this, he started the Sitruli Foundation in August 2017. Through this trust, with the help of Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore and Cognizant Outreach Group, they have established an exclusive basketball court for training at Ganga Spine Rehabilitation Centre in Coimbatore.

They have also purchased 15 sports wheelchairs for differently-abled persons in association with Motivation India.

Since 2018, his foundation has organised three state-level competitions, one south Indian regional competition and one exhibition in Varanasi, inter-state competitions.

They are also organizing exhibitions and para-sports events in educational institutions to spread awareness about sports competitions for the differently-abled.

Due to continuous efforts, Ganga Hospital has now selected land for setting up a dedicated Differently Abled/Adaptive Sports Academy, Rehabilitation and Research Centre in Coimbatore for the first time. The next phase of planning is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2023.

Gunasekaran said, "My aim is to create sports academies for the differently-abled. They will serve as centres of excellence that provide high-performance and grassroots-level training.

These centres will create awareness about disabled sports in India and will continue research and empower the differently-abled.

By 2027, my wish is to set up such a centre in Tamil Nadu and before 2035, create similar centres in all the 28 states in India.

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