Chennaiites pedal to support India’s para athletes

Six continuous days of cycling through a distance of 400km amidst the Himalayan mountain ranges, heading towards an altitude of 18,490-feet above the sea level — this is what two Chennaiites decided to put themselves through in order to lend their support to a good cause. Manepalli Vinay Babu, formerly the senior vice-president at a private bank, who turned into a carpenter to pursue his passion, along with city-based surgeon Dr Jayapriya Ramas, who met through a cycling group, were recently part of the adventurous cycle ride to support and raise funds for para athletes from the country. By participating in the ride from Dehradun in Uttarakhand to Mana Pass on the Indo-China border, also the new highest motorable road in the world, the duo managed to contribute Rs 5 lakh to help the country's sportspersons with disabilities.

The journey, which is called the Infinity Ride, is an annual ride by Aditya Mehta Foundation, a non-profit organisation which helps athletes with disabilities pursue their dreams in sports. “The main aim of the ride is to mobilise resources so as to help the para athletes financially in continuing their sports. The ride had a total of 40 cyclists, including 15 para athletes (who have won national and international awards) and 25 from various professions from across the country, who helped in raising funds for the cause. Since a large number of para athletes are from the military forces, as they are the people who often lose their limbs while in action, we had the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) also taking part in organising the ride. It was an extremely challenging ride because of the elevation, as we were gradually climbing to a higher altitude and there was no time to rest,” recalls 52-year-old Vinay, speaking to DT Next.

The idea of Infinity Ride is to assert that there are infinite possibilities for human beings, he says. For instance, one of the para athletes who took part in the ride, Kaigoulal, rode with one leg, without his prosthetic limb. The ride, in total, managed to generate a total of about Rs 30 lakh from people across the country, which will be used for procuding equipment for sportspersons with disabilities.

Jayapriya, 37, who began cycling only about eight months ago, says she was inspired to be part of the challenging ride when she learnt about the cause. “I have had no experience in riding at such high altitudes, but it was absolutely inspiring to have para athletes along with us. Throughout the journey, whenever I had an issue with my bicycle, there one of the para cyclist, who had only one arm, was helping me fix it. Looking at him, I was beyond motivated to keep riding. We also visited an Army camp that was in the middle of nowhere, where some of the army men live in the extreme cold weather, where even an insect can’t survive. It is heartening that we could support a few of them through our journey. When I began asking people for funds, I did not expect such a positive response from so many people, a few of whom I had known only through social media,” she admits.

Aditya Mehta, the founder of the NGO adds, “The ride not only helps raise funds for the para athletes through a team of riders, who use their social media and contacts for the funds, but also gives an adventure of a lifetime. The equipment for para athletes is quite expensive, and there is a need to raise awareness to support them.” The NGO hopes to have more para athletes represent our country at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.