Meet the wheelchair bound fencer from Chennai who’s looking to compete in the international arena

Sheranthi Thomas says she never walked after the age of 10 months, she only continued crawling. The wheelchair bound fencer from Chennai grew up in the small fishing hamlet of Periyavilai in Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu.

Her father was a fisherman, and with five children, money was always in short supply. Till the age of 10, she studied in a local school in her village.

“I hardly interacted with anyone. I was afraid people would mock me. I was interested in sports and tried my hand at wheelchair racing, shotput, etc.,” she recalls.

After her fifth grade, she discontinued school for two years. It was a trying time; she would cry seeing others going to school. Her father finally enrolled her in a school in Nunganeri. She happily went and that turned out to be the best decision of her life.

“People around me treated me well, like I was a normal person. I came out of my shell and started enjoying school,” she says.

Around that time, she was steadfast in the belief that she must become an example of hope for people with disabilities like her.

“I began searching for an identity that would empower me to be a role model to others. I also wanted to give my parents the confidence that I would look after myself and be independent,” she says.

After completing her 10th grade, she did an ITI course, studied computers, and then completed her education with a BCom degree. All in the hope of securing a good job and helping her family.

In 2011, an acquaintance introduced Sheranthi to fencing, and she picked it up on a lark. The same year, she won a gold medal at a fencing competition and continued her winning streak until 2013. Though she got a couple of chances to participate in international competitions, she had to let go because she couldn’t find sponsors or arrange for money to attend them.

Sheranthi completely gave up fencing and returned to Periyavilai and took up a job that paid her only Rs 4,000. It was difficult to make ends meet, but a tough family situation prevented her from returning to Chennai.

In 2019, she willed herself to return to Chennai and take up fencing again. She hoped to get a government job that would help her with better prospects.

“In 2019, I won four medals, two individual and two for the team – gold and silver. As I was getting my groove back, the pandemic hit. I was without a job or fencing tournaments and had to stay with my sister during the period,” she says.

Thankfully, as things got better, Sheranthi got a job in a private company, and she now earns around 12,000 a month. She spends around Rs 6,000 on her PG accommodation; the rest goes towards her training, and she also manages to send money home to her parents. She doesn’t have access to the weapons either, and borrows it from other people to participate in tournaments.

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Last month, after winning in the Nationals in Odisha, Sheranthi has once again qualified to participate in the International Wheelchair Fencing Championship in Malaysia.

“I require Rs 2.5 lakh to be able to travel with an escort and for other expenses in Malaysia. For this, I have started a crowdfunding campaign on Milaap.org to be able to reach my goal,” Sheranthi says.

At the time of publishing this article, Sheranthi has reached her goal and is all set to travel to Malaysia for the tournament.

Sheranthi hopes to get government support in the long run to achieve her dreams of becoming a fencing champion.