Helping people with disabilities take up sport
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Aditya Mehta is a resident of Hyderabad, Telangana. As a young child, he was extremely mischievous, a trait which one can notice in him even today. He grew up to be an entrepreneur in the garment industry.
At the ripe age of 24, his life took an unexpected turn as he met with a serious accident while riding his new Royal Enfield motorcycle. This accident led to the amputation of his right leg, and a long struggle to get back to leading a normal life. Some like to call it destiny, as we all can witness the wonders that have come from that one fateful day. Today, Aditya’s Foundation has touched innumerable lives!
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Aditya has always had big dreams in life. It took him some time to snap out of the depressing phase in life where he was on complete bed rest, but once he was out, he started dreaming again. Upon sighting a local cycling group’s picture of an able bodied cyclist, Adi decided that he wanted to give cycling a shot. There were a few naysayers when he expressed his desire to get on a bicycle, but nobody could convince him otherwise. He had made up his mind, and was going to give it a try.
On his first attempt, he fell down 5 times within the very first kilometer. But instead of dampening his spirit, each fall was strengthening his will power to get control over the bicycle! It took him a while, but he soon learnt how to balance himself on two wheels, and the rest is history.
This man with such admirable will power would move ahead to set multiple records in the LIMCA book of world records, being the first and fastest amputee from India to complete a 100km ride along with various other records.
Aditya also managed to win two silver medals for our nation at the 2013 Asian Para Cycling Championships, the story behind which is quite amusing. 15 days prior to his race, Aditya started experimenting with his prosthetic limb and bicycle to find the most efficient mix for a race. With just 5 days remaining, and multiple changes being made to his equipment, it so happened that he was on a training ride with the then Cycling Champion of the State of Andhra Pradesh. On this ride, his prosthetic limb came clean off his torso and got stuck in the front wheel, causing a terrifying crash. This crash hurt his tailbone, and it was medically advised that he skip the Asian Championships completely. His parents agreed with the doctor, but Aditya had other plans. He hatched a conniving plan where he told his parents he wanted to go and watch the others compete at the championships. Little did they know that he was carrying his cycle along with him. His plan could not stay secret for too long, however, as he managed to haul in two silver medals from the two events that he took part in.
Apart from this, Aditya has various other achievements to his name, including a bike ride from London to Paris, Kashmir to Kanyakumari and the toughest of the lot, Manali to Khardung La. Aditya has managed to log over 40,000 kilometers within those two and a half years of competitive cycling.
After winning various such accolades, the number of people who started approaching him for help and guidance suddenly shot up. Many of our nation’s PWD’s (people with disabilities) found inspiration in him and approached him for his support. That is when Adi realized that much greater work can be done by helping the citizens of our country. Putting his personal goals on the back seat, Aditya began working on creating an NGO – The Aditya Mehta Foundation. He built the Foundation from scratch, beginning by helping a couple athletes gain access to better equipment for sport, and then learnt how to grow the organisation by leaps and bounds. It’s been only 3 years since the beginning of the Foundation, it’s tough to believe that so much growth has taken place in such a short span of time!
About the Foundation:-
Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF) is a non-profit organisation which aids people with disabilities to pursue sports while providing self-sustenance. The Foundation was formed with the main aim being to make India a super power in the world of Para Sports.
The Foundation was started in October 2013, and has grown by leaps and bounds in a short span. Based out of Hyderabad, the area of operations spans every corner of our nation. The Foundation represents a cause that is unique in our country, and a large minority of people has much to benefit from the work that they do.
What the foundation does can be broken down into the following four points:-
->Raise Funds for operations through the signature Fund Raising event, the Infinity Ride.
->Scout out talent among the disabled population of India.
->Provide counseling for such individuals and help them get better at their sport/ find a sport that is suitable for them.
->Provide the necessary equipment, training, funding for these athletes to help them grow in their sport and compete to win at the International level.
Along with civilian talent available, a major portion of the efforts are directed at finding and nurturing talent available in the nations Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CRPF, SSB, CISF and ITBP), where there are quite a few permanent injuries which arise while a soldier is on duty at India’s International borders and naxal prone areas. The AMF is proud to be officially associated with all 5 wings of the Central Armed Police Forces, from where a lot of talent is sourced out.
The Foundation supports athletes right from the grass root level and brings them up to a level at which they are capable of International dominance in their sport. Over the last 2 years, athletes supported by the Foundation have gone on to win 27 international medals, and promise to win many more in the coming years.
The Foundation is strongly backed by trustees from the film and fashion Industries, along with a lot of support from highly ranked Officers of the Indian Army, Business Persons and Policy Makers.
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