This Paralympic Champion Travelled to Rameswaram to Pay His Last Respects to Dr. Kalam

21-year-old Paralympics champion, P Tamilagan, travelled all the way to Rameswaram to pay respect to Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, his idol. 

Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a role model for P Tamilagan, a 21-year-old Paralympics champion. It was a dream for Tamilagan to meet Dr. Kalam in person one day, but it could not happen.

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On Wednesday, he travelled all the way to Rameswaram to pay homage to the man who inspired him all his life.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Dr. Kalam has been an inspiration for many people in many different ways. In this case, Tamilagan learned the spirit to fight against all odds from the former President. At the age of 12, P Tamilagan lost his leg in a road accident. But the young boy did not let the incident slow him down. When he was in class 11, he joined a dance class, and later began to concentrate on swimming. With his determination and practice, he finally reached the time when he participated in the 12th National Para Olympic Swimming Championship in Indore in 2014, where he won one gold, two silver and a bronze medals.

Prior to this, he participated in the 3rd state level Paralympics swimming championship at Chennai and bagged three gold medals, one silver medal and an overall championship award there. He has also been a part of several other tournaments.

“Kalam is an inspiration not only to me but also to many others. While watching the news of his death on television, tears rolled down my cheeks. Instead of sitting at home, I and my friends decided to visit Rameswaram and pay my respect to him,” he said.

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