Berlin [Germany], June 23 : One of the most enthralling aspects of a multisport festival is the variety of skills on display, each showcasing the key ingredients of their sport. For some, like the 100m sprint, the hard work is truly behind the scenes, and the dead on track, although over in seconds, justify it.
For others like golf, patience is not just a virtue but also an absolute necessity. Ranveer Saini and Rahul Agarwal showed it in bucketloads, to take the gold medal in the event at the Special Olympics World Games 2023, along with Ankush Saha, who also claimed the gold medal in the Level 1 Golf event.
Ranveer and Rahul played four rounds of golf (alternate shot team play) over four days at the Arnold Parmer Course in Berlin and were on the top of the Leaderboard on all four days. They won the gold by a record-breaking margin of 18 shots.
Saini, one of SO Bharat's most accomplished athletes has been integral to India's success at the World Games. As a 17-year-old he won the first gold for India in the event at the Los Angeles Games in 2015. Eight years on he has not let up.
Diagnosed with autism at a young age, Saini started playing golf with the encouragement of his mother Bakthwar Saini, to help keep him occupied. It seemed a natural choice because Bakhtwar herself played the sport and Ranveer's uncle Jeev Milkha Singh, is one of India's greatest golfers ever. While the achievements have piled up over the years, his hunger has been proof that Special athletes are a breed apart.
Saini's gold medal meant India's ever-burgeoning medal tally and four-day streak showed no signs of letting up. India added 21 medals to their overnight tally to take it to 76 (26 gold, 30 silver, 20 bronze) by the end of action on Thursday in Berlin.
In Judo, Suhalia Parveen won silver, to notch India's first medal in the event at the Games.
In powerlifting the medals came unabated, the sport has accounted for 20 medals already. V Harish and Siya Sarode added four gold medals to that tally. The former won golds in the squat, bench press and combined events while the latter won gold in the squat.
Not too far behind is roller skating with 17 medals. Angelina Mary Poussin, unlucky to miss out on a medal in the 500m, won silver in the 100m to get on the podium.
On the tennis courts, curiously and through a quirk of the draw, India's Swaraaj Singh and Lovlesh Sharma faced off in the semi-finals of Level X. Swaraaj won the encounter 6-3, 6-2 to progress to the final. Lovelesh will have a chance at redemption in the bronze medal match on June 23.
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