INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
PANAJI: Siya Sarode won a record four medals, including two golds, but the powerlifter from Sanguem almost missed participating in the 2023
Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.A student of Sanjay Centre for Special Education, Curchorem, Siya was at first refused a visa for
Germany, where the Games are being held, after she failed to produce the necessary documents.Siya lives with her uncle and aunt after her
mother passed away and father went missing
She needed a legal guardian certificate for the Schengen visa, which she didn't have, but intervention from the chief minister's office
(CMO) meant that the athlete got the document in quick time.Taniya picks up bronze in roller-skatingSiya got her visa just 24 hours before
already left for Berlin and we asked a coach to stay back and accompany her separately
four medals, that included two golds in deadlift and squat
she could have so easily missed this big event
It is all thanks to the intervention of chief minister Pramod Sawant, social welfare minister Subhash Phal Desai, and the state disability
commissioner Guruprasad Pawaskar for ensuring that she g ot the visa
We are highly grateful to all of them
Goa as besides Sarode, Taniya Ulhas Usgaonkar also climbed on the podium in roller-skating
A student of Keshav Seva Sadhana, Bicholim, the 15-year-old won bronze in the 30m straight line roller-skating event
She finished behind the Romanian duo of Mihal Arsenie and Corina Campeanu i n the DO3 division
Taniya has been skating since the age of eight and showed great resolve to learn the sport despite falling multiple times and failing to
even walk with the skates on for long spells at the start
a fter attending two national camps in Gurgaon and Noida.It was Goan athlete Geetanjali Nagvekar who started the gold rush after she won the
800m race to cheer up the Indian contingent on Tuesday
It wa s the first gold medal for the country, and since then the athletes have matched the best from across the world.At the
Hanns-Braun-Stadion at Olympiapark early in the morning, Geetanjali, r unning a time of 4:31:40, finished almost eight seconds ahead of her
competitor in second place to put India on the board.India also won big on the roller-skating rink where eight medals (2 golds, 2 silver,
and 4 bronze) were grabbed through the day.
