New to wheelchair racing, Ramesh speeds ahead like the wind

Chennai: Life has come full circle for 30-year-old Ramesh Shanmugam.

After quitting his primary sport, wheelchair basketball, in 2022 due to a lack of recognition, he is now seen proudly holding three gold medals from the National Para-athletics Championships.

The icing on the cake is that in the process, he also broke two national records, both in the T54 1500m and T54 800m categories.

The interesting part? He has only been in this field for two years.

The switch

Sports have always been Ramesh's passion from a young age.

Unfortunately for him, he lost his right leg when he was eight years old due to an unfortunate accident, but it did not stop him from pursuing sports.

Having been exposed to para sports in college, he took up para basketball and made it all the way to the top.

"I played for India between 2014 and 2022, but quit the sport because I did not get any recognition," he said, in an exclusive interview with The Bridge.

After a brief stint working at the Ganga Hospital Spine Injury Rehabilitation Center in Coimbatore, Ramesh was once again back into sports, but this time as a wheelchair racer.

His expertise in moving with the wheelchair during his basketball days proved useful, as he was able to climb up the ranks.

"For the first year it was tough as I did not have money to buy wheelchairs for racing, but my coach got me a second-hand wheelchair which I put to good use," he said.

Soon enough, a turning point came at the 2023 Nationals, where he won gold in the 1500m race.

"With that gold medal, I was able to apply to the Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation, which sponsored money to import a wheelchair from the US," he added.

Hard work bearing fruit

Starting in this field, Ramesh knew his competition was stiff, given that most of his peers had many years of training and experience under their belt.

While most would be intimidated, it served as a motivating tool for Ramesh.

"Everyone around me had been doing wheelchair racing for five, six, seven years when I started but I believed in myself," he said.

"We have heard people say a person will be naturally good at something, and for me, it was wheelchair racing. I was able to adapt to all aspects rather quickly, be it technique, speed, or endurance," he added.

To further bolster his training, he went to Thailand and trained with Thai wheelchair racers for a month.

"My coach took care of all the expenses for the trip, and he and I cooked food in Thailand and stayed together and trained," he said.

"It was an unbelievable experience [training in Thailand]. Thailand racers are among the best in the world, they win a lot of medals and also set world records, and to train by them, and learn from them was an incredible experience for me," he added.

The results of the labor are there to be seen for Ramesh, as he broke two national records at the para-athletics nationals.

With a timing of 3:24.20s in the Men's 1500m T54 event and a timing of 1:47.63s in the Men's 800m T54 event, Ramesh now proudly owns two national records.

Having to spend so much time and effort towards his sport, family time took a hit but thankfully, he has an incredibly supportive family who understands his goals and priorities.

"I have spent more time in training than with my wife. She has been extremely supportive. She motivates me every day to train and perform. I dedicate these medals to her as well," a gratuitous Ramesh said.

Los Angeles in sight

Although he missed out on the Paris Paralympics, he has his eyes set on the upcoming World Para-athletic Championships, and long-term, Los Angeles Paralympics.

"I missed the Paris Paralympics, but I am very confident I will participate in the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028," he said.

While closing, he had one message for the fellow para-sportspersons.

"A common trend I see is that para sportspersons tend to quit rather quickly. I would advise them to not do that. Hard work never fails and I am an example. At first, I was intimidated by going up against people who had seven years of experience in wheelchair racing but two years later, I broke two national records. It is only because of hard work," he said.

"Disability is not the end of the road, but a setback. With determination and will, one can overcome any obstacle. That's my message to other para sportspersons," he concluded.