IIT-Madras held a sports carnival for persons with disability on Sunday, December 11. Titled ‘Sports 4 All’, the carnival was aimed at encouraging persons with disabilities to play a sport. It was organised by the TTK Centre for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) along with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Centre for Assistive Health Technology (NCAHT). According to The Hindu, the carnival was aimed at introducing devices that could assist persons with disabilities in the field.
Apart from the games, stalls were also set up for 12 sports with adaptive equipment, including wheelchair basketball, cricket, rifle shooting, wheelchair racing, wheelchair tennis, badminton, powerlifting and board games. Participants were encouraged to try them out. Justin Jesudas, head operations at R2D2 told The Hindu that the participants, their caregivers, and the general public were given 30 minutes to spend at each stall. He added that it was a “fun experience” for many of them as they were trying out these sports for the first time. Jesudas also said that they were hoping that this would encourage participants to take proactive steps in making sports more inclusive.
V Kamakoti, the Director of IIT Madras stated that inclusion is one of the agendas of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and added that devices to assist persons with disabilities will help them participate in sports which would further improve their physical and mental health. Sujatha Srinivasan, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering said that it was crucial for governments, education entities, private and public sectors to find solutions for persons with disability.