AFTER reading online about a teacher who mocked a special needs student for salivating, Mr Ryan Ng was infuriated.

The 21-year-old, who has a mentally-challenged brother, decided to do something to combat "condescending" attitudes.

In March, the keen dragon boater roped in three other trainers to help set up Deaf Dragons - a team of about five hearing members and 17 individuals with hearing impairment, mostly from the Singapore Association for the Deaf.

In just four months, the team went from knowing nothing about the sport to winning a prestigious global tournament.

Despite taking up the paddling sport in March with little water confidence, by July, the outfit finished first in the disabled category of the eighth Club Crew World Championships in Hong Kong.

"It was a proud moment for all of us as we have not been training for long, yet we were able to hold our own against the other formidable teams like the Breast Cancer Survivors and All Cancer Survivors," said Mr Ng, who is in national service.

Mr Ng and the other trainers are volunteers with Youth Without Borders, a non-profit organisation which supports and facilitates youth projects.

Their efforts caught the attention of telco StarHub, which forked out $26,000 in May to sponsor the team.

But despite such support, it was not all smooth sailing.

Mr Ng knew that dragon boating is a vocal sport which relies heavily on verbal commands and drum beats to drive momentum.

Without their sense of hearing, the team will be disadvantaged.

But the team took these obstacles in their stride.

They translated verbal commands to visual hand gestures and the able-bodied trainers picked up basic sign language to ease communication.

The trainers also had to dip into their pocket money to rent boats for training sessions, which can cost between $30 and $200.

"Ryan and I put in about $1,000 every month from the fees we earned from other coaching sessions," said Ms Debra Lam, 19, the team's head trainer.

Both Ms Lam, a polytechnic student who has two brothers with autism, and Mr Ng firmly believe that the disabled are just as capable as the able-bodied.

Team member Alfred Yeo, 34, an accounts assistant who was born deaf, told The Straits Times: "During gatherings, people tend to forget I am around and just talk away.

"But sports is a universal language that all of us can understand, coordinating and working together in a team."

The Deaf Dragons team intends to recruit people with other forms of disability.

Eight mentally-challenged individuals are now attending its orientation training sessions, while members are ensuring that waterways are kept clear of litter and leaves.

JANICE TAI

For more information on the group, visit facebook.com/DeafDragonsSingapore