Double delight for Tirupati athlete at national Special Olympics

K. Varshini of Tirupati represented Andhra Pradesh and bagged two medals at the Special Olympics Bharat 2026 held at Rohtak in Haryana.

The event, organised to instil confidence and inspire sportspersons with special needs, saw Varshini participating in the senior women’s category. She won a silver medal in shot put (3kg) event and a bronze in 200m athletics.

The event was hosted by Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, in which 385 athletes with special needs representing 27 States participated in 16 different sporting events, said Andhra Pradesh and Telangana delegations’ in-charge B. Rajasekhar

Gold in the past

Varshini had earlier bagged gold at the State-level in the junior women’s category in 2018. Under the mentorship of coach Sharada, she pursued rigorous training for two years.

“Despite the cold weather hovering between 8 and 13 degrees Celsius from night to day time, Varshini, who is prone to getting frequent seizures, exhibited great strenghth,” recalled her parents K. Madhu Babu and K. Varija, who run ‘Sreesh Mandir’, a home for such special children in Tirupati.

After screening at four levels, the players selected at this event will get an opportunity to represent the country at the international Special Olympics to be held in Chile in 2027.