R. Gokul is a 21-year-old athlete from Kuthanur, a remote village in Palakkad, Kerala, who is intellectually disabled. He has been consistently winning medals in state-level and national level Special athletic meets for the past few years. Gokul recently qualified as the national champion and will be representing India at the ‘Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019’ in the 100 m & 200 m sprint events.

The World Games are considered more than a world-class sporting event. They are a catalyst to improve lives, and to create greater social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities globally. There are over 7000 athletes from over 170 countries participating in this event from March 14 – 21, 2019.  Gokul has clocked a career best timing of 11.4 seconds in the 100m sprint and has he potential to bring home the gold medal for India.

Gokul’s story is one that has blossomed out of a struggle fraught with tough circumstances and financial constraints. His father, Sri. Rajan is physically challenged and earns a measly income as a tailor. His mother Smt. Bhagyawati is a daily wage labourer.

Gokul's incredible feat is the result of his innate talent, perseverance and the unflinching support and financial assistance of the management and patrons of Tejus Charitable Trust at Palakkad.

Tejus Charitable Trust is offers a world of hope for a group of intellectually disabled children and adults in Kuthanur, a village in Palakkad, Kerala. Established in 2003 as a charitable trust, Tejus is registered under the Kerala Government as a non-profit, non-religious, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).

Tejus functions as a day care centre for the inmates, and provides training to develop language and social skills as well as basic skills to manage their day to day activities. Since most of the children come from financially backward families, there are no charges/ fees levied for the services provided by the trust.

The funds collected through this initiative will be used for professional athletics coaching by International trainers, fitness training, diet, sportswear and out of pocket expenses. Gokul will be going to New Delhi on 27th February for the Special Olympics training camp. He will fly out as part of the Indian contingent on 13th March.

Even though Gokul is officially representing India at this international event, it is unfortunate that there is hardly any coverage given to this great feat in popular news/media. This makes it even more mandatory that we share this success story to the maximum and support Gokul in his journey to triumph.