Sheetal Devi on target, Mariyappan Thangavelu’s jig to a Vijay song – Paralympians felicitated in Chennai school

Sheetal Devi on Wednesday gave the students of Velammal Vidyalaya in Chennai’s Vanagaram a glimpse of what she did at the Esplanade des Invalides in the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Sheetal, who clinched the bronze medal alongside Rakesh Kumar in the open mixed team compound event at the Summer Games, was the guest of honour alongside fellow Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu, who too finished third in the men’s high jump event in Paris.

The school signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the city’s Sri Ramachandra College of Sports & Science that aims to nurture 50 identified athletes from the school and prepare them for the 2032 Olympics, as explained by Uma Sekar, Vice-Chancellor of Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER).

During the two-hour long event, a mini shooting range was propped up on the stage. After a short deliberation amongst Sheetal and her coach, who took into consideration the safety of the audience members, she let fly three arrows.

Her scores? A nine, another nine, and a 10.

“Here, I felt as if I was playing for a podium finish! I was getting nervous, but I told myself to not get scared. Teer marna hai (I have to shot the arrow),” Sheetal told Sportstar.

Earlier, the Paralympians were welcomed by the beats of a chenda melam (a traditional artform that uses percussion) ensemble. Both made a grand entrances, each in a separate a makeshift chariot and a garland, double their size, was carefully suspended mid-air in front of them with the help of a crane.

Once seated, the athletes were felicitated for their exploits in the French capital. The customary silk shawl was draped around them and the athletes were handed framed portraits as a memento.

Sheetal and Mariyappan were happy to partake in the stage performances by the students that followed. Sheetal joined a girl showcasing her talent with the hula-hoop, giving hooping a shot herself. She even gave the hoops a try with her leg.

Sheetal, all of 17 years of age, was happy to drop the seriousness of a Paralympic medallist when she joined the festivities. Mariyappan still wore the disappointment of missing out on gold.

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“I was supposed to return with gold from Tokyo (he won silver) and Paris (bronze), but circumstances always came in the way,” he said on stage. “But my coach reminded me that I am the one athlete in India who has managed to medal in three consecutive Paralympics,” he continued, to loud cheers from the audience.

Mariyappan also indulged in the fun soon after, dancing to the tunes of actor Vijay’s hit number Aalaporan Thamizhan. The triple-Paralympic medallist was seen enjoying himself with the students on stage, waving a large Indian flag in tandem with the small ones the children held during their performances.

After the vote of thanks, the duo stayed back and posed patiently with the students for group pictures, with a smattering of autograph requests.