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Taking special care
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He gave up a Government job to coach the differently abled. Meet M. S.Nagarajan, Regional Sports Co-ordinator, Asia Pacific Special Olympics
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M. S. Nagarajan (left) seen with P. W. C. Davidar (secretary, SDAT), M. Balaji (Rotarian), Rekha Ramachandran, Air Marshal Denzil Keelor (chairman, Special Olympics, Bharat) and the members of the teams at the conclusion of the volleyball competition (Special Olympics) at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
SPORT AS a means of inspiring the differently abled is getting increasingly recognised the world over. Nothing can substantiate this more than the International Olympic Committee mandate for cities to host the para-Olympics immediately after the conclusion of the Olympic Games. The success of this event in Athens in September last year reflected the concern of everyone to give the participants the pleasure of sport.
There is a growing awareness in India also that men, women and children with intellectual disabilities can be groomed to savour the delight of sport and acquire a measure of fitness. The concept of "Special Olympics" is now a dedicated international movement, involving as many as 1.4 million competitors from around 150 countries since 1968. India is one of the seven regional centres for spreading this message. The others are located in Belgium, China, Egypt, South Africa, the United States and Panama.
The aim is to improve physical fitness and motor skills, which automatically increase the level of confidence. It has been established that several who benefited from sport are now able to manage a job, attend school and face the challenges of life. Quite predictably, coaching these "special" athletes and making them understand the fundamentals of various disciplines — 19 official summer sports and seven winter sports — is indeed a formidable task. Those endeavouring to prepare the athletes should be equipped with more than mere knowledge, or technical expertise. The job involves extraordinary patience, perseverance and a rare touch of sensitivity to communicate with the competitor.
Small wonder, therefore, coaches dedicated to this line are few compared to the other disciplines. One among them is the 50-year-old M. S. Nagarajan, Regional Sports Co-ordinator, Asia Pacific Special Olympics. A graduate from Nandanam Arts College, Nagarajan has a Master's Degree from the YMCA College of Physical Education.
Successful trainer
Nagarajan gave up a Government job as a physical education trainer to devote fulltime to specialised studies in coaching the physically disabled and mentally challenged. He obtained a doctorate in physical education at the Intra American Humanistic Studies in Florida last year. His research study was in Physical Education and Sports for the Disabled. Apart from academic study and research in his chosen area, Nagarajan has also passed the referee/umpire tests conducted by the Athletics Federation of India, All India Tennis Association and the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation.
Nagarajan's credentials as a successful trainer for the intellectually disabled in the area of sports development helped him visit several international competitions. He was the chief coach and assistant head of the delegation to the Special Olympics World Games at Dublin, (where India won 110 medals, including 34 golds), and to the Special Olympics at Minneapolis (U.S.). He was also the Technical Director for the Special Olympics held in Chennai and for the National Games at Bangalore, Pondicherry, Chandigarh and New Delhi. The disciplines included basketball, volleyball, cycling, football, swimming and roller-skating, handball, badminton, table tennis and bocce.
As the regional co-ordinator, Nagarajan has visited several centres to share his knowledge and expertise. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the U.S. and Ireland are some of the countries where he participated in coaching-cum-lecture sessions. Several institutions have acknowledged Nagarajan's contribution to coaching. He received the CIPLA award for best coaching in International Special Olympics in the U.S. What he cherishes most is the award Vidya Ratna given by the Parthasarathy International Cultural Academy.
Growing awareness
Nagarajan is confident that with the growing awareness of the need to bring in the intellectually disabled persons to mainstream sports, there is no reason why the movement in India cannot reach the target of roping in as many as 200,000 people by 2005. Currently, about 3,600 coaches are involved in training around 100,000 people in 23 states in the country. He is optimistic that the Special Olympics philosophy reflected in the slogan, "Let me win. But if I cannot, let me be brave in the attempt," will sufficiently motivate more and more people to come forward and assist these "special" athletes.
S. THYAGARAJAN
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