SABITA YADAV is a talented sports personality who was at Peace Haven Special School, Caranzalem. She started Table Tennis at the age of 10 where she represented her school, at the local, state and national level competitions on a number of occasions. Before getting selected for India she had to undergo 4 preparatory camps. After a lot of hard work and sheer determination Sabita went on to win gold in the singles and silver in doubles at the Special Olympics World Game held at Abu Dhabi in 2019.
| ACHIEVEMENTS IN TABLE TENNIS | ||
|---|---|---|
| State Level 2016 | National Level 2017 | International Level 2019 |
| Gold in single | Gold in single | Gold in single |
| Gold in unified | Silver in unified | Silver in doubles |
Stars has various projects and activities at Peace Haven Special School for these children. That’s were we saw 2 sports motivated girls who were working hard to achieve their goals. One such girl was Sabita; we were amazed by her sporting spirit and drive to succeed. She was one of the few chosen from Goa to represent India for the special Olympics to be held in Abu Dhabi in 2019, apart from the regular coach and training she received, we decided to help her with additional skill training for 2 months in the sport to give her the edge she required. She also approached us for help to get a new table tennis bat with the specification sent by the special Olympics games officials.
Sabita comes from a family that is below the poverty line and her single mother struggling to make ends meet was unable to afford the high specification sport bat. We were happy to help and bought the required equipment. Additionally, we even provided her with some basic necessities like a toiletry kit for the travel.
Sabita not only made us proud but made her nation proud by winning the Gold medal in the singles category and silver in the double’s category at the special Olympics games. We were even more motivated about making a loud noise about her winning the gold for India, so the STARS team contacted media houses and told them her story. She then got a live interview with radio channel - Rainbow FM and a newspaper flashing her win. We also nominated her for the orchid awards in the sports category and she won that award and got the recognition she deserved. We did not stop there we even approached Goa table tennis association to award her as a role model to other aspiring sports children for achieving as much as she did. They awarded her and showcased her amazing journey of achieving the gold for India.
Sabita thanks STARS for all their support during this amazing journey by providing the special training, for the timely help in procuring the table tennis bat that brought her the win but appreciating her achieving her goal and making her feel good about it.
