Don’t be fooled by Kayan Anklesaria’s slight frame or his tender age. His rich haul of medals is proof that he is made of sterner stuff. The 13-year-old brain cancer survivor won the most medals — four — in the Indian contingent at the annual World Children’s Winners’ Games held in Moscow from June 2-4.
The sports event, held exclusively for childhood cancer survivors, saw 14 Indian participants — all from Mumbai — competing with 550 children from 16 countries. The Indian cancer survivors, aged 7-16, won 26 medals — eight gold, 11 silver, and seven bronze — in five categories.
The children’s training and trip were sponsored by patients of Parel-based Tata Memorial Hospital, where they had also undergone treatment.
Confidence booster
Amita Bhatia, voluntary social worker in the department of paediatric diseases of the hospital who accompanied the children to Russia, said the aim behind participation in the international sports event was to help the cancer survivors regain their confidence. “I have been helping out cancer survivors participating in the competition for the last four years. I have seen for myself how their confidence boosts once they set foot on such an international forum.”
She said the children’s victory is a testament to their enduring spirit. “People think that cancer survivors are always sick. But if they can win gold medals for the country, they can do anything. All they need is faith in their abilities,” said Bhatia.
Dr Shripad D Banavali, head of the department of paediatric oncology of the hospital, said winning the war against cancer and then mimicking that victory in sports events serves as an inspiration to other patients. “Often people feel ashamed after cancer; they feel that their lives have ended. A patient can live a normal life. The survival rate is even higher in the case of children.”
At the competition, the children saw the Russians as their biggest adversaries since it had the most participants from a team — 50 — and had received rigorous training, said Dr Banavali.
Trained for 2 months
Just beating cancer didn’t qualify the children for the games. They had to undergo tests and training before taking the international stage.
“Children are first referred by doctors or schools. We asks schools to issue certificates if their students are regular participants in sports events. During counselling [for cancer treatment], if we find out that a paediatric patient likes a sport, we call him/her later. From 10 patients, we choose two to three,” said Bhatia.
Two-and-a-half months prior to the Winners’ Games, the children were trained in football, chess, table tennis, rifle shooting, swimming and athletics. While the chess training was conducted on the premises of the hospital, the children were sent to specialised centres for others — a nearby ground for football and athletics, a centre in Vile Parle for shooting, a pool in Andheri and a table tennis coaching centre in Parel.
The golden boy
Anklesaria, a student of St Mary’s School (ICSE) in Mazgaon, had always dabbled with one sport or another. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2014, but made a full recovery a year later.
His mother, Shernez, said, “He was always into sports, but owing to the illness, his strength deteriorated and he lost his confidence. The opportunity to represent India at the international event has revived his self-confidence. I was afraid when he began training. I thought he wouldn’t have the strength for it. But, he grew more confident.”
Recalling Anklesaria’s first win in table tennis on June 2, she said, “I remember the smile on his face. Thousands cheered for him. He has begun a new life that we never dreamed of.”
The young boy also represented India at the closing ceremony for bagging the highest medal tally in his contingent. “That was a proud moment for us, and held out hope for all cancer patients,” said Shernez
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Patients funded trip
Funds for the tickets and the training were raised through donations from Tata Memorial Hospital’s patients. Generally, patients or their relatives don’t donate for such causes, but we had to identify such donors and convince them that the fund was for the welfare of cancer survivors. Just surviving cancer isn’t enough; they have to learn to live their lives to the fullest,” said Bhatia.
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