Venkatesh Yethiraj  lives in India and stands at 4 foot 2 inches. Despite being at a serious disadvantage due to his very short stature, he bravely went ahead and faced many challenges in sports, cultural and other social activities and repeatedly came up as a winner in many situations. He expressed his desire to compete and started his sports career from his early school days. He used to play chess and represent in interschool tournaments. He has excelled in more than one sport like Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer and Volleyball. He is the first person from India to get the highest medal tally in International events in a year.

Venkates was actively involved with Government and Non-Government Organizations to make user friendly access for people who use wheelchairs at important places and sports grounds including basketball courts and badminton courts. He continues working with the manufacturers for the manufacture of low cost sports equipment for the Differently Abled.

Venkates special interest in promoting & developing sports like Wheelchair Basketball had him attend the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Accredited Coaching, Technical & Classification course and by bringing the able bodied International legend Basketball Players to get involved in the development of Wheelchair Basketball in India.

The Government of India recognized his contributions to the sports for the Differently Abled and was sent as Team Escort for many International level sports to help wheelchair bound players. He played a key role in getting International affiliation to India from the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), Canada, International Para Equestrian Committee (IPEC), Switzerland & International Dwarf Sports Federation (IDSF), UK.

 Venkates is the Secretary of Karnataka Badminton Association for the Disabled, every year conducting the National Badminton tournament for the Differently Abled and identifying the talented people to represent in the International level Badminton tournament for the Challenged.

Recognizing his performances and contributions to the Differently Abled sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India sent him as Team Escort for the Indian team to the 9th FESPIC Games – 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the IBAD World Badminton Championships – 2007, Bangkok, Thailand, for the IBAD World Badminton Championships – 2009, Seoul, Korea, and as Coach for the Indian Wheelchair tennis team to the 1st Para Asian Games – 2010, Guangzhou, China.

 As a role model through his achievements and contributions in sports, many Educational Institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations’ have invited him as Chief Guest to their institutions to speak of his experiences and courage to the upcoming citizens.