Rashmi Nagvekar was on the verge of tears when she received the news that her daughter Geetanjali had won a gold medal at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin. Geetanjali, who is from Nerul, achieved this feat in the Level D 800m category, finishing ahead of Kudriavtseva Kateryna from Ukraine and Watts Jolyn from Canada. The World Summer Games in Berlin is held every two years for special athletes and has attracted over 7,000 athletes representing 190 delegations in 26 different sports.
Rashmi expressed her joy, stating, “This is a momentous day for all of us. Geetanjali started her sports journey at Sanjay School and worked hard to improve. The teachers, especially Victor Vaz, took excellent care of her and made her a confident athlete. She has always been a fighter, and now she has won us a gold medal.” Geetanjali, the daughter of Rashmi and Ravindra Nagvekar, will be representing India in the 400m, 800m, and 4x400m relay at the 2023 Special Olympics.
Geetanjali, who is 19 years old, is a student at the Sanjay Centre for Special Education in Porvorim. Rashmi mentioned that they are eagerly waiting to talk to her but have been informed that the events are still ongoing. Earlier in the day, Geetanjali qualified for the Level D 800m final, putting herself in contention for a medal.
Aside from Geetanjali, other 800m runners from India, Asheef Malanur (Level B) and Soham Rajput (Level C), also made it to the final round. Additionally, Libin Mallika Rajakumar (Level B) performed well in the 200m event, and the men’s 4x400m relay team has also qualified for the medal round. India’s first medal in Berlin was won by T Vishal in powerlifting, earning a silver in the men’s squat, deadlift, and bench press categories. Vishal’s combined effort put India on the scoreboard at the Special Olympics World Games.
Victor Vaz, the national sports director for Special Olympics Bharat, expressed satisfaction with the athletes’ performance at the global event. He stated, “We are pleased with how our athletes are rising to the challenges they face at this international competition. We have high hopes for our Goan athletes to bring home some medals. They were fortunate to have a strong pre-competition training regimen. Though there may be nerves, we expect them to overcome it and return triumphant.”
The Goan team consists of 13 athletes participating in futsal, athletics, roller skating, basketball, judo, unified volleyball, and handball (both male and female categories) at the Special Olympics World Games.