City kid grabs two golds in Special Olympics

Ever since he has come back home from his hectic trip, all that 22-year-old Ashish wants to do is share tales from his 10-day tour to Australia. Making friends from different countries, the fabulous country tour and oh! yes, winning not one but two gold medals in the game of Bocce — has Ashish all excited. He squeals with delight while showing off his medal."I won two of them, look," he says.
A class X student of Sanskruti Shikhar School, Ashish is an autistic child who not only made his school, family and friends proud by this win, but also the state. He is the only child from Andhra Pradesh to win two gold medals — singles and doubles at the Special Olympics.
Special Olympics 2013 saw more than 2,500 participants from over 32 countries battle it out in nine games. Quiz him on why he opted for bocce and not regular games like cricket or hockey, and he promptly responds, "Because I wanted to make my mark and win in a lesser-known game."
Talking about his feat, he says, "Not many Indians are aware of the Bocce. It’s similar to playing gottis (marbles) in the galli — throwing balls. But in this case, it’s heavy iron balls weighing more than three kg each. I’ve been practicing since 2009 and it took me five years to get it right. Since the school does not have a ground, I rigorously practiced it at the old Haveli in Begumpet." Ashish attended training sessions in Chennai and Hyderabad and later, fine-tuned his skills in Australia. Ashish adds with a laugh, "It looks simple but it’s not. Before I entered the field, I said a small prayer that my mother taught me — whoever deserves it should win. And see, I did!" The win has earned him a direct ticket to the next Special Olympics scheduled to take place in Los Angeles in 2015.
Ashish proudly dedicates this win to his family. "My parents and younger brother were jubilant with my win. The entire colony came down to my house to receive me. I also threw a small party for my friends at the school. It was like celebrating Diwali, Dusherra and my birthday all at one go." Apart from bocce, Ashish has a knack for other games too. His teachers say that he is a pro at table tennis,
badminton, running and cycling and when it comes to inter-school cultural activities, he has always done well.
"I want to learn football next and one day I’ll play for big teams," says Ashish, who is considered a chatterbox by his classmates.
On a parting note Ashish says that although he came back with fond memories, he in fact, was in no mood to come back from New Castle, Australia. "It was so much fun meeting people from across the globe. I made so many friends. But I didn’t like the plane journey. It would have been more fun if we went to Australia by train."