Meet the eccentric and inspiring achiever
Wheelchair Basketball Player and
Founder of Yathumagi Tours & Travels
A physically challenged person, a state and national level wheelchair basketball player and swimmer, who truly believes in making a difference and giving back to the community.
Malathi is a wheelchair user who is paralyzed below the waist. She is a zonal level wheelchair basketball player, who lost use of both her legs to Polio when she was 8 months old.
Sometimes, in life, you just have to wait for fate to make its move!
A Thousand Miles journey begins with a small step – and Malathi’s started in a Child Home where she was supported, till X Standard. Miles fell by as she graduated out of Madras University in the year 2006, ready to take on the world.
She mentions, “Family circumstances forced my parents to send me to a home for the disabled.” “Many people scared me about raising a disabled child. Some even told me to get rid of her.” says her mother.
In a world full of opportunities and challenges in equal measure she built her confidence brick by brick, working her way through jobs with Call Center sand for a short period of time ran her own shop Consultancy firm where she engaged and produced opportunities to over 650 candidates.
A window to a new world of Values and Vision beckoned, encouraging her to dream BIG.
I was very unsure what I can achieve in life, given that I had this disability. There wasn’t much hope for me about my future, until I encountered Wheelchair Basketball. WBFI – Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India was started in 2014. I joined in 2016. So far. I have trained and played in 12 games at the State. National and International levels and won several of them.
says Malathi
In 2021 she has started Yathumagi Tours and Travels that aims to provide job opportunities for women and physically challenged people, budget friendly tour packages for lower and middle class income groups and to enable elderly and physically challenged people to travel with ease and see places making their dream come true.
“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”