Sports Scholarship Recipient Determined to Touch Lives

BY: .

Born to parents who are top sport personalities, 18-year-old Ms Saiyuri Naidoo is making her own mark in sports. 

The first year MBChB student has been awarded the UKZN Prestige Sports Scholarship for her impressive accomplishments in chess. 

She has obtained national colours in chess and participated in the World Youth Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Despite investing long hours in it, the sport has never interfered with her studies, as she continued to excel in matric where she obtained eight distinctions. 

The MBChB student at UKZN’s Medical School in the College of Health Sciences, says this scholarship will ease the financial burden on her parents and provide another platform for her to continue to participating in sports. 

‘Upon receiving this prestigious award, I was thrilled as I realised that the long hours I had invested in the game of chess finally had some financial benefits. I am truly grateful that UKZN recognised my potential in a sport that does not generally earn the respect and media coverage as other popular sports; yet this mind blowing tactic driven game can revolutionise the mental capacity of the youth. I will continue to play at an international level but more importantly I want to use chess as means to make a difference in people’s lives.’ 

Naidoo hails from Umhlatuzana Township in Durban and is grateful to the Chatsworth Youth Centre for playing a pivotal role in developing and promoting her chess achievements. She attended Star College High School, where her passion for Maths and Science soared and she is grateful to all her educators who instilled in her that “at the end of education is character”. 

Naidoo shares that her dad is an avid volleyball and cricket player whilst her mum is a fanatic netball and volleyball player. 

‘I have always felt that I had a vocation to serve mankind. The MBChB degree seemed well suited for me to fulfil my goals.’

Lihle Sosibo