Young Achiever Empowering the differently abled

 

 

 

A true coach is not the one who trains champions, but the one who teaches the broken to rise, the hesitant to believe, and the forgotten to dream again. Meet 31-year-old Devshri Joshi from Dhamtari, who has devoted her life to coaching differently abled children in sports. A black belt in martial arts, Devshri has, over the past decade, trained more than 150 Divyaang children in disciplines such as para judo, para athletics, para swimming, wheelchair basketball, para archery, and even mountaineering and trekking.

 

Her perseverance has borne remarkable results. Forty of her students have won medals at national-level para competitions held across the country, while two of them have qualified for international tournaments and are preparing to bring laurels to the nation. Significantly, most of these medal winners come from tribal and underprivileged communities. Among her notable students are Rajni Joshi, who has won 12 medals, Shakuntala Sahu with 8 medals, Malti Sahu and Murtaza Ali with 5 medals each, and Poonam Yadav, who too has bagged 5 medals in national events. Another of her trainees, Chanchal Soni, stands out as an inspiration. She has successfully trekked to the Mount Everest Base Camp and has also won medals in national para sports competitions in wheelchair basketball and para swimming. “Ma’am Devshri never lets us feel limited by our disability.

 

She believes in us even when we doubt ourselves,” says Chanchal Soni with a smile. What drew Devshri to this noble pursuit was a deeply personal reason. “My sister is partially visually impaired. I have seen closely the challenges that a disabled child faces. I wanted to prove that differently abled children can achieve great things and make their mark. That thought guided me to take up coaching,” she says. She joined an NGO in Dhamtari and began coaching Divyaang children, a journey that continues with undiminished dedication even after ten years. However, her journey has not been without challenges. “The biggest difficulty is the lack of proper training infrastructure. For swimming, we do not have a suitable pool, so I train the children in a nearby village pond. In judo, a foam-based mat is essential, but we only have ordinary bedding, which increases the risk of injury.

 

Training visually impaired children is particularly demanding, as techniques must be conveyed through physical touch. In para athletics, we often have to guide them by hand to help them learn movements and maintain balance. Financial constraints also make it difficult to provide specialized diets to my sportspersons. I appeal to the state government and private organizations to extend financial support so that these children can be trained in a safer and more effective environment,” she explains. Recognizing her contribution, several reputed organizations in Dhamtari have felicitated Devshri for her tireless service. Her message to Divyaang children is simple yet powerful: “Never let your disability define your limits. With dedication and courage, everything is possible.” n