Vellore duo shine in paralympic games

The winners - Venketachalam (30), who is wheel chair bound is the son of Mani and Valarmathi. The couple are weavers in Gudiyattam. Venketachalam won gold in sitting discus throw (distance of 23 meters), and won the silver in sitting javelin throw (distance of 18.70 meters). 

Earlier, Venketachalam nearly missed a trip to Nepal due to lack of funds. Later, philanthropists volunteered to fund for his trip to Kathmandu for the South West Asian Games. Similarly, another disabled youth, Santha Sakthivel (35) of Vellore, who also participated in the Para-Olympics won gold and silver in discus and shot putt in the standing throw category. Both Venketachalam and Santha Sakthivel were honoured by local big wigs and NGOs in the district.