Karnataka's tennis prodigy Eramma vying for top honours in Berlin

Berlin [Germany], June 17 : Karnataka's Eramma will be one of the athletes competing in tennis at the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023 in Berlin at the ongoing Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023 in Berlin, Germany which will take place between June 17 and June 25.

A contingent comprising 198 athletes and unified partners and 57 oaches are set to participate in the prestigious event across 16 sports from India.

Growing up in the small village of Taranagar, in Bellary district, North Karnataka, the 22-year-old Eramma had very little exposure to sports. Her parents were farmers, responsible for supporting her and her two siblings. Eramma was born hearing impaired and also acquired a speech deficiency when growing up, leading to deficient cognitive abilities. Communication was never a problem though, and she would, along with her two male siblings, spend a lot of her time outdoors, running in the sun and playing whatever games their imagination could think up.

When Eramma was around 14 years old, she was enrolled in the Tamanna School in Toranagallu, established for children from families with lower socio-economic abilities, by her uncle. Her uncle also decided to foster her.

A crane operator at the Bellari plant, his residence was closer to the school and made it a viable option for everyone involved. Very soon, Eramma made the most of the sports facilities available within, establishing herself as a multi-talented athlete.

"She started off as a runner, and then two years later when she was 16, she started playing table tennis," Rajesh Vhanne said.

Vhanne has been the head of sports at the school since 2016 and is the tennis coach for the Special Olympics Bharat contingent travelling to Berlin for the World Games.

It was put to her, when she was playing Table Tennis that perhaps she could expand her interest and use not just her hand-eye coordination, but also her physical abilities to their maximum. She was pushed onto the tennis court, and almost immediately she thrived. Vhanne admits that the first few days were tough. She did not know how to serve, and the double-handed backhand an awkward movement at the best of times flummoxed her completely. But slowly, Vhanne and Eramma worked together to help her grow into the games.

At the World Games, Eramma will take part in the singles, the women's doubles as well as the mixed doubles. SO Bharat's four-member tennis contingent is multicultural Eramma's partner Anmol is from Thrissur and the two boys in the team are from Haryana and Delhi.

While Vhanne himself has had limited time to spend with the athletes, he does not expect their performances to suffer because of it. "They have been training and practising with their area coaches long before the Games and I can see that each of them has a special set of skills. My job is to just give them the confidence to put them on display."

For Eramma, the goals are a little different. This will be her first trip outside India, and while she is excited about it, she is also keen to add to what will undoubtedly be a burgeoning medal tally for the country. And then she hopes to catch enough attention to get a job.

A vibrant, constantly smiling face masks a fiercely competitive interior. Tennis, Vhanne says, has added a new veneer to her personality. "She used to be a bit shy, always curious but also somewhat conscious of herself and never really keen to even try and engage with people."

An inability to converse with words and a lack of people around who used sign language undoubtedly contributed to it. But sport, as the oft-repeated maxim goes, requires no language. Vhanne can testify to it.

"We can converse with each other perfectly," he laughed.

"In fact, we don't get distracted by meaningless chatter either. Tennis language is simple, and straight. We can speak to each other clearly in it," he added.