On 2nd April 2023, the inaugural inter-university Tamil society athletics competition was set up and held by Queen Mary’s Tamil society, Bart’s Tamil Society and ES sports. Universities from across the UK competed to be crowned the TSOC Olympic Champions by participating in multiple field, track and mixed events.
The team of organisers aimed to promote inclusivity across the Tamil community by including both male and female participants from each university competing in every event. The competition also included a TSOC All-Star football match that involved a team of players hailing from London up against a team of players from the rest of the UK. The London team claimed victory, taking the crown of All-Star Champions.
This year’s competition also marked the introduction of the ‘TSOC Olympics Book of Records,’ in which all the best athletes' names and records would be noted and altered if beaten in following years.
University of Nottingham’s Arasan Premsankar set the first TSOC Olympics record for both the discus and shotput events. In an interview with Tamil Guardian, Arasan stated that he was excited for the launch of the TSOC Olympics as it was an opportunity to nurture the Tamil community’s athletic capabilities and hoped to inspire people to get into sports. Arasan stated the event provided an opportunity for people who enjoy sports but previously had little to no opportunity to participate.
Ultimately, the Queen Mary and Barts’ team were crowned the overall winners of the first TSOC Olympics, with City University coming in second place and Kent and Greenwich in third.
Photography by Thujandan