The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Ice hockey players felicitated

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Ice hockey players felicitated

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, APRIL 12. "I do not know how these boys managed to play in the freezing cold of Japan, after being used to the burning heat of Chennai," said Keiko Nakano, Japanese vice-consul at a function organised to felicitate the young men who represented India at the Special Winter Olympics in Japan in February this year.

ABK-AOTS Dosokai Centre felicitated three young men D. Robert, 19, of Bethsan School, Madurai, and Kamala Kannan, 19, and A. Venkatesh, 25, both from Pathway, for representing Tamil Nadu at ice hockey.

"Yes. Japan was very cold. But we were taken to Simla for a 10-day training so that we got used to the climate. We spent 15 days in Japan. We also had time to shop and we saw the bullet train," says Robert, who is mildly mentally challenged.

Venkatesh, who also fights hearing difficulties, is a sportsman who has represented India and won prizes in the U.S and England. Now employed at Pathway, he has made a success of his life, says A.D.S.N. Prasad, Director of the Centre.

Sudha Subramaniam of Pathway urged corporate houses to come forward to sponsor special athletes in order to encourage and motivate them.

M.R. Ranganathan of the Dosokai Centre felicitated the athletes and praised their determination and courage.

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