Chennai: With less than 100 days left for the Special Olympics International football championship to kick off in Chennai, a curtain-raiser event was held in the city, Thursday.
Special Olympics International Football Championship 2019 is an initiative of Special Olympics, an international organisation that serves athletes with intellectual disabilities. The championship will be held from 3 to 6 August 2019 at Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium.
During the curtain raiser event, actor Varalaxmi Sarathkumar was the chief guest. The event also saw the participation of Special Olympics 2019 medal winners from Tamilnadu, Basketball player, Ankita, Swimmer Gokul Srinivas and Powerlifter Abhishek. Speaking during the event, chairman, SOIFC, Amar Prasad Reddy, said “After 50 years of the establishment of Special Olympics, for the first time, the football championship will be held in India. It is a proud moment as Chennai will be hosting it. Teams from 25 countries will be participating in the championship and we are also expecting some more teams,” he said.
“In Special Olympics India is in the number one position in terms of the number of players with 15 lakh registered players. Also for the first time, Special Olympics torch will reach India from Singapore. It will travel across the country and the chief ministers of all the states will be receiving it,” he added.
Every day from next month there will be a special programme planned across the country ahead of the event. “The goal of this championship is to spread awareness to people about Special Olympics. In 2020 we are also planning to host Special Olympics International football World Cup where 50 countries will participate,” said Amar Prasad Reddy.
“It is a big prestige and honour for our country that we are hosting the championship. It is important that special children should not be differentiated from others in society. They are capable of doing more than what a normal person can do. I hope this event will create an impact in society as well as the special children,” said Varalaxmi Sarathkumar.