Special Olympics Medalist feted

PUDUCHERRY: Santhosh Kumar, winner of the bronze medal at the volleyball event in the recently concluded Special Olympics World Summer Games, Athens 2011, was honoured by social welfare minister P Rajavelu here, on Monday.An inmate of the Government Home for the Mentally Retarded (GHMR), Santhosh was part of the volleyball squad which represented the country in the Athens Games held from June 25 to July 4. His compatriots D Thamizharasan and Roopa had won the gold and silver in the men’s basketball and women’s basketball respectively at the games.Coaches Ragothaman, Veera and Prakash had helped hone Santhosh’s talent, said Rajendran P, welfare officer of GHMR. The latter added that five of his school’s students had been practising volley ball regularly.The 18-year-old Santhosh Kumar hails from Ambedkar Street, Pudunagar in Ozhukarai.