Udhayanidhi Stalin Wiped The Tears Of 2 Paralympians And Spent 14.50 Lakh For Equipment

Body ailment should not be a barrier for achievements, realising this, Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has provided prosthetic legs to 2 young differently abled players at the cost of 14.50 lakh. K. Rajesh and K. Kalaiselvan are the two differently abled players who lost their legs in an accident. Even after the incident, both of them continued their journey in the sports industry in order to achieve their dreams.

Unfortunately, the artificial legs purchased by them had practical problems which stood in the way of achieving their ambitious dreams. Coming to know about this, Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin extended his helping hands to these players.

A brief about the two players:

Kalaiselvan is a Paralympian staying in Trichy and undergoing training. Only his leg was lost in an accident when he was 5 years old, not his passion for running, which encouraged him to participate in many competitions. He has a record of covering 100 metres in just 11.09 seconds.

Rajesh is also a Paralympian living in Chennai who is involved in Paralympic sports for the past 6 years. Seeing his potential Rajesh's coach adviced him to take serious training and fortunately he received aid for prosthetic leg through an event. The purchased prosthetic leg didn't cope with his speed which hindered his participation in the events.

Udhayanidhi's tweet about 2 players:

One of the ambitions of the Dravidian model government is to break barriers for the talented people to achieve their dreams. To make this ambition a reality, DMK government is working tirelessly to ensure that no obstacles are there for sportsmen including economic hindrance. One such effort is the provision of 7.20 lakh each to differently abled athletes Rajesh and Kalaiselvan for the purchase of prosthetic legs.

Udhayanidhi Stalin also wished the two athletes to reach great heights in their life and promised that DMK government will always help them to clear hindrances in their path. The famous saying is "It's easier said than done", on the contrary Udhayanidhi Stalin after assuming responsibility in the Sports Ministry has done a lot more than he said.

Two athletes' opinion about Udhayanidhi Stalin:

Kalaiselvan was wearing a low quality artificial leg which was not coping with his speed. The compensation of the artificial leg with his speed resulted in pain and bleeding in the joint. The pain made Kalaiselvan mentally weak which in turn made him think about quitting sports. When Kalaiselvan was in his peak expecting a medal, the artificial leg shattered his dreams. Reason being, his inability to purchase a high quality prosthetic leg which costs around 7 lakh. In such a situation, Udhayanidhi Stalin, like a brother, extended his helping hands and bought Kalaiselvan a high quality prosthetic leg.

"The prosthetic leg was in the same quality as used by other foreign Paralympians. With this artificial leg, I can run without any pain as if I have my natural leg. I have participated in many state level and national level competitions and won many prizes including a gold medal. My aim is to get a gold medal in Paralympics and my heartfelt thanks to Udhayanidhi Stalin brother who made this possible", said Kalaiselvan.

"The prosthetic leg I am using is the latest model which was bought by Udhayanidhi Stalin brother at a cost of approximately 8 lakh. No one has sponsored so much for me in the past 7 years of my sports career like Udhayanidhi Stalin. I have already won bronze in 100 metres but my target is Paralympics", said Rajesh.

All the best for your future endeavours Rajesh and Kalaiselvan.