How a mason’s son from Erode won a Medal of Excellence at WorldSkills 2026

M. Surenthiran, a Civil Engineering graduate from Aapakudal town in Erode District, who won the Medal of Excellence at the WorldSkills Competition 2026 that took place in Shanghai, China.

M Surenthiran’s father M Mani would return home from work at the construction site, his arms and neck stained grey by splotches of cement every day. Mani, a mason, would head for a bath first thing. Surenthiran spent his growing up years taking in the nitty-gritties of his father’s profession, spending his summer holidays at the various sites his team worked. The learnings from these precious interactions laid the foundation for his recent success at an international stage.

Surenthiran participated in the Plastering and Drywall Systems category at the Olympics of Skills

The 22-year-old from Erode won a Medal of Excellence at the 48th WorldSkills Competition held in Shanghai, China, in September this year in the Plastering and Drywall Systems category.

The competition is popularly known as the Olympics of Skills, and picks the best among young people from across the world who practice various vocational, technical and skilled trades. Categories include automobile technology, carpentry, cooking, hairdressing, industrial mechanics, among a range of others. This year, India secured the 10th place, with 12 Tamil Nadu participants from the 70-member contingent. The team, including five who won medals, was felicitated with cash incentives in Chennai by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on October 27.

Surenthiran, a Civil Engineering graduate, at his home in Aapakudal town in Erode District.

Surenthiran was tasked with constructing an 8x8 room in 22 hours, which he completed to precision. He is still processing the medal and the accolades that came with it — he even met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on October 9. Seated on a string cot near the cow shed at his home in Apakudal village, he recalls the day he signed up for the WorldSkills event when in college in 2023. “I was in the third year of my Civil Engineering course at Bannari Amman Institute of Technology,” he says. Surenthiran chose to participate in the Plastering and Drywall Systems category.

“My teachers told me it was a unique branch in construction that is now being employed in countries such as Germany and Japan,” he says. Surenthiran knows construction and the science behind it like the back of his hand. He started working with his father from his Class X summer holidays, helping him at the site, passing bricks and mixing cement and sand.

Surenthiran with his family at his home in Apakudal, Erode

“I went for the tea and snacks,” he grins sheepishly. Construction workers took two short tea breaks in the morning and evening, sipping sweet tea and snacking on biscuits and vada. Surenthiran, all ears, would join them, taking in their conversations that mostly revolved around work. He saw firsthand the ratio of cement and sand to produce mortar; heard the mesthri’s gruff instructions to the team; laid bricks and plastered walls under his father’s watchful eyes.

His mother Rajamma too used to work as a mason and as a family, they often travelled together, living in temporary enclosures at the site. Thangal (meaning ‘to stay’) assignments that went on for a few months would happen in nearby towns such as Coimbatore and Surenthiran and his brother joined their parents during school holidays. “We would play in the sand and run about the bricks,” he recalls.

His text books could not even come close to his on-site experiences. “They helped me understand subjects with clarity, and look at the process of creating a building with sand, cement, and bricks as art,” he says. It is this approach that came in handy at the various levels leading to the WorldSkills competition in Shanghai.

Before being selected to represent India, Surenthiran competed at the district, State, and National level. Each level of competition was preceded by a few days of training under experts, and Surenthiran travelled to Chennai, Mumbai, and Taipei for competitions. The expenses were borne by Tamil Nadu Skills, and IndiaSkills that comes under the National Skill Development Corporation.

The training and exposure during these events, Surenthiran says, offered him invaluable insights into the field. “I was able to learn under the best people,” he says. They also presented him with many firsts — his first flight journey, first trip abroad. His face lights up when he recalls his journey. “I got a window seat and had my eyes fixed on the skies,” he says.

Surenthiran with the Medal of Excellence which he won at the WorldSkills Competition 2026 that took place in Shanghai, China earlier this year.

Surenthiran is now looking for opportunities in the field of plastering and drywall systems he is trained in. “I ultimately want to start my own firm, and a training centre for Tamil Nadu students to compete at the WorldSkills competitions,” he says. His mother looks on with pride and a little fear in her eyes. “I wonder if his dreams are beyond our means,” she says. But then, he made it this far.

The Hindu MetroPlus / Coimbatore / human interest / society