"I want to run fast and win a medal"

A native of Vepamanipeta, nearly 100km from Anantapur, Baba lost her father at a young age and her mother does menial jobs to eke out a living. Baba's jaw got locked when she was a toddler and lack of medical facilities in her village left her speech impaired.

Fakrunnisa
Age: 16 years
Sport: Learning daily living skills

HT Image

"So, Baba where will you be going now?" That's a question Baba Fakrunnisa has to answer regularly nowadays.

"Haryana," the 16-year-old differently abled athlete responds with difficulty. Baba is undergoing training at the Rural Development Trust's (RDT) Bathalapalli campus, where she is learning daily living skills at the special residential school.

A native of Vepamanipeta, nearly 100km from Anantapur, Baba lost her father at a young age and her mother does menial jobs to eke out a living. Baba's jaw got locked when she was a toddler and lack of medical facilities in her village left her speech impaired.

But nowadays, Baba is happy. She and fellow RDT athletes, Revathi and Venkata Ramana, both 16, will represent India at the Special Olympics in Athens in June. The three athletes would be attending the final camp at Rohtak in February.

Baba's life changed three years back when she started taking part in sports. In January, Baba stood first in 100m, 200m and shot put at the national championships organised under the auspices of Special Olympics Bharat.

"She clocked 14 seconds in 100m and was picked for a camp at Gacchibowli, Hyderabad, and cleared that too," says coach, Narendra Luther.