The World Cup trophy reaches up to B Dhakshan’s shoulders as he awkwardly poses for a picture with a wide smile. Dhakshan (13) has over 50 trophies, including the one he won at the 2nd WUSF Silambam World Cup 2026 held in February at Adhiyamaan Indoor Stadium in Hosur.
He is just back from his daily silambam practice at the Mooligai Poonga in Nammalwarpet, near Brislee Nagar in Otteri, where he lives. At his home, which he shares with his extended family, one is welcomed by his parents, D Balaji and K Swathi, and by the countless trophies he has won.
Dhakshan was introduced to silambam during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was 7 then. Slowly, he and his parents realised he was naturally good at the sport, which has also been played through generations in his family. His great-grand uncle used to train former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran in silambam during his acting days.
Recently, after winning the national championship in New Delhi, he had expressed a desire to meet Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. On this wish, he elaborates, “I want to meet him so that silambam gets more recognition, and also help from the State,” says Dhakshan. The sport has helped him become more disciplined, physically fit and also become more aware of himself.
One of the challenging aspects of the game is levelling up and learning to play with weapons. “Upgrading to each level is difficult; there are new weapons at each stage. But with enough practice, it gets easier, and there is the next level to go,” he explains. The desire to keep silambam’s rich heritage alive keeps him going.
Dhakshan’s journey to becoming a world champion is also the story of his parents, who have been relentlessly supporting their son. Balaji, who works at Toyota India as a service advisor, has been training his son for the past five years, until recently, when they met coach Kannan, who teaches at the Mooligai Poonga.
While his dad trains him and shuttles between offices for grants and permissions, Swathi, does all the paperwork that goes behind and takes care of her son’s academic needs. A school teacher, she works at the same school as Dhakshan. “To take time for school is difficult for him while managing practice and the competition tours, so I make personalised notes for him. I try my best to make academics easy for him,” she says.
Swathi hands out a leaf from a notebook, where she has carefully listed every achievement of her son so far, including the cash rewards by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT). Dhakshan has 8 World Records in silambam, 11 district championships, 8 state championships, 8 national championships, gold and silver medals at the Asian Games and National Youth Games, 1 Gold and 1 Bronze at the Malaysia International Championship and 2 Gold and 1 Silver at the South India Championship, along with the World Cup to his credit.
Funding their son’s dream has been expensive, energy and time-consuming. “We’ve spent all our savings and gold on this,” says Balaji.
There is little support from the government. The SDAT did reward Dhakshan with Rs 2.50 lakh for his first international win in Malaysia. However, due to the lack of cash flow into the sport, any competition has to be personally funded.
In Malaysia, Dhakshan won two medals. “It was one of the hardest games for me. I was facing more than 10 opponents for the first time. But I kept playing with all my heart,” he says.
If funds have to be sought from the SDAT in advance, it requires writing proposals and constant waiting. “It takes at least Rs 14,000 to take his silambam equipment on a flight to the competition. Then, there are travelling and accommodation fees,” explains Swathi. “It would be helpful if the State government allowed at least a concession for travel.”
Back home, each entry into any competition costs a minimum of Rs 1,500. Dhakshan has been practising wearing the same shoes for the past three years, because they could only afford so much. “If the sport gets recognised more, this burden will be off our shoulders,” say the parents.
Competitions put a lot of stress on the body too. The event venues are often in the remotest parts of the country. For instance, the first national championship organised by Youth Games Federation of India, was held at Mungeshpur, Haryana, in February 2023. “It was very hard to reach there, as it was a remote village. The cold took a toll on his health as well, and subsequently his performance. It was hard for him to perform. However, there too he won two gold medals,” says the proud father.
All their days and nights are consumed by thinking about the next step in their child’s silambam journey. “What if we miss some competition, or possible recognition if we take a rest?” says Balaji. “Sometimes I am so tired, I get irritated with the constant silambam conversations. I wish we could catch a break,” adds Swathi. As for Dhakshan, his day is full of practice and thinking about the next game.
Balaji and Swathi both let go of their dreams to pursue a government job due to circumstances. Balaji’s sporting ambitions were also cut short. They do not want the same for their son. “I was a carrom player at the State level, but couldn’t continue due to family issues,” he says. A huge poster of Chennai’s new hotshot footballer S Prakadeswaran, hangs right opposite their home. Pointing to that, he says, “Sports is all that kids here have.”
The parents have also been visiting different government offices to apply for the Bal Puraskar Award and Padma Shri. Last year, despite submitting multiple documents and verifications, the Bal Puraskar Award went to young cricket star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. “The documentation for these applications costs quite a lot of money. We had hoped that if there was some visibility through government accolades, it would help the sport,” they say.
They pointed out that if the State recommended him for an award, funding would be less of a hassle. “But, the State has been reluctant to spend on silambam. There is a 3% quota for those who play silambam in the public educational institutions. Then why can’t the State support silambam through infrastructure and funds?” asks Balaji.
A dispute between two silambam associations in the State has also put the sport away from the Sports Department’s attention.
While Dhakshan picked up the sport out of boredom, it gradually became his passion, which his parents considered their duty to encourage and support. Balaji said: “Kalaripayattu now has recognition at the Olympic level because of PT Usha. We want a similar kind of recognition for something that is born out of our State. Who will do it for us if we don’t do it ourselves?”
Dhakshan echoes a similar thought adding, “I want to play our traditional sport, keep winning, take it to more places and make the State proud.”
1 Gold, a Silver – Asian Games 2024, Vijayawada
1 Gold, 3 Silver – Asian Games 2025, Melakottaiyur, Chennai
1 Gold, 1 Bronze – International Silambam Open Championship, May 2024, Malaysia
2 Gold, 1 Silver – South India Championship, April 2025, Melakottaiyur, Chennai
Champion – 2nd WUSF Silambam World Cup 2026, Hosur
8 World Records
11 district championships
8 state championships
8 national championships
Each entry into any competition costs a minimum of Rs 1,500. Dhakshan has been practising wearing the same shoes for the past three years, because they could only afford so much