17-year-old shuttler who won three gold medals at Deaflympics felicitated

Noida: Jerlin Anika, the 17-year-old hearing impaired badminton player who won three gold medals at the Deaflympics 2022 in Brazil, was felicitated at an event in Noida on Monday

Noida: Jerlin Anika, the 17-year-old hearing impaired badminton player who won three gold medals at the Deaflympics 2022 in Brazil, was felicitated at an event in Noida on Monday.

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The Deaflympics, held at Caxias do Sul in Brazil, concluded on May 15 and Anika bagged one gold medal each in the team event, mixed doubles event and women’s single event.

In 2017, Anika’s international badminton journey started when she was spotted by a Deaflympics badminton coach. “At the National Games of the Deaf that was held in the national Capital in March 2017, we saw 12-year-old Anika’s talent on the badminton court and decided to select her for the Deaflympics in Turkey that was held in July 2017,” said Sonu Anand Sharma, head coach for the Indian badminton team at Deaflympics 2022.

The Noida-based veteran badminton player and coach added that Anika’s performance has improved with each year, helping her make the country proud at this year’s Deaflympics.

Anika’s father Jayaratchagan, who is a small-scale entrepreneur in Madurai said, “I had struggled to provide her proper nutrition and sports accessories due to lack of funds”.

In 2019, Anika’s talent was recognised by HCL Foundation’s ‘Sports for Change’ initiative and she was enrolled as a sports scholar under the Power of One (Po1) My Scholar Project of the organisation.

“Jerlin’s sports nutrition and accessories were provided under the initiative along with a scholarship of ₹3.25 lakh. This helped open up many avenues for her and she was able to further sharpen her skills that enabled her to win the gold medals,” said Nidhi Pundhir, director, HCL Foundation.

The shuttler was felicitated by HCL at its office in Sector 126.