Chennai
This unique para-athlete, who had to drop out of school courtesy the difficulty he faced while climbing upstairs, has an ultimate objective of clinching top honours at the highest level. He is still far from reaching there, but his utmost dedication is putting him in good stead to reach that goal.
“The Nationals will be held next month (in Trivandrum). I will have to perform well in that to get selected for the Indian team. Once I get there, I will be on par with others. I want to clinch a medal at the Paralympic Games,” said Aadithya.
The local lad trains under the able guidance of Ramanpreeth Kaur at the Gun For Glory (GFG) Academy in the Centre for Sports Science at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College here. He bagged a double (2 gold medals) in the State-level Shooting Championship in Madurai earlier this year.
The 19-year-old followed it up with a gold and a silver in the 28th All-India Mavalankar Shooting Championship. Speaking on how he tried his hand at shooting, Aadithya added, “I did my schooling until Class 7 and after that, I opted to stay at home and pursue my education. I found it tough to access the classrooms which were in the upper floors. Once I graduated from Class 12, I was keen on taking up a sport. One of my well-wishers recommended me to give it a go.”
Only a combination of hard work, determination and self discipline will turn a dream into reality and that is what the Chennai-based shooter is working upon. “As I started to improve, my confidence went up a notch. I put in a lot of effort, spent more time in training. I usually practice for about two hours a day in the morning,” remarked the B.Com second year student.
When asked to pick three sports personalities he looks up to, he replied, “Gagan Narang, Abhinav Bindra and Sachin Tendulkar are my idols. They made sure they remained consistent throughout their careers. They keep themselves motivated all the time. I had the opportunity to meet one of them, Gagan, at GFG and he wished me good luck.”
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android