Three cheers to India’s Para-Cycling Champions

With a clean sweep of medals at the recently concluded Asian Para Cycling Championship in Bahrain, Abishek Singh Sheku, Divij Shah and Harinder Singh have raised the bar for para athletes in India. Competing against 100-odd athletes from 12 countries, the trio established Indian supremacy by winning the gold, silver and bronze medals in 12.8 km Individual Time Trial category.The jubilant trio say the time they spent training in Hyderabad was instrumental in their historic victory.
“A team of eight cyclists, we underwent relentless training for the last five months, and most of it happened in Hyderabad under the guidance of Aditya Mehta, who won two silver medals in the Asian Para Cycling Championship in 2013. We would cycle 40-50 kilometres every day in the morning and evening. The weather was also perfect for training and I cannot describe in words how good the food was as well,” says silver medallist Divij Shah, a financial analyst from Kolkatta, who lost his right arm at the young age of four, when he suffered an accident in the elevator.
For gold medalist Abishek Singh, the win is a result of years of perseverance. “I’ve been training for 10 years now and I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I credit my teammates, for getting the best out of me. Some of them, like bronze medallist Harinder Singh, were from the BSF and CRPF, so they were very strong,” says the resident of Chandigarh, who was affected with polio in his right leg when he was a child.
The story of Harinder Singh, who lost his limb in a mine blast while on patrol duty with the BSF in Jammu & Kashmir is equally awe-inspiring. “Shortly after my leg was amputated I was depressed about the prospect of being resigned to desk work for the rest of my life. And that’s when I tried cycling during an event organised by BSF. I decided to not let my limitation dictate my life. What is most fulfiling was listening to my BSF mates telling me that they were inspired by me,” says Harinder.
The trio has set their sights on winning the gold at the Para Cycling World Championships in Italy next year. “I am right now ranked first in Asia. But that’s not enough for me,” says Abishek who wants to inspire those like him to go beyond their limitations with his achievements. “Many cyclists from other countries had better cycles which were more that twice as expensive as ours. But what matters is the will to succeed,” he adds.