Mumbai
When stepping out of the house was a challenge two months ago, India's first-ever international medal winning para cyclist Aditya Mehta alongside members of country’s para cycling team set aside in their quest to prove there is nothing impossible as they set off pedalling from Kashmir with a charity mission to raise money and create awareness about para sports across India.
The expedition, called Infinity Ride K2K 2020, a brain child of Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF), began their journey astride bicycles and overcame challenging conditions and arrived at their final destination, Kanyakumari.
“I had cycled the same terrain all by myself six years ago in 2013 where I had faced immense challenges both mentally and physically but the love and support that I had received from everyone on my way back then gave me the confidence, said Mehta after completing the 3842 km-distance.
After traversing 36 cities across the country, cyclists concluded their journey at historic Vivekananda Rock Memorial where they were welcomed by personnel of Defence and Central Armed Police Forces.
The sixth edition of Infinity Ride, was flagged off on November 19, 2020 from Srinagar. All through their journey, they interacted with several NGOs, specially-abled schools while connecting over virtual meetings and also met employees of an inclusive cafe chain to explain and empower people about para sports and how it has changed their lives.
The Border Security Force (BSF) was the first organisation who believed in the cause from the very beginning and supported AMF and Infinity Ride since its inception in 2013 and later Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) also joined hands for this cause.
The Aditya Mehta Foundation has been relentlessly working with people with disability since its
The Infinity Ride K2K 2020 is led by Asian para cycling championship bronze medallist Harinder Singh, Asian Games track cycling bronze medallist Gurlal Singh, both had lost limb at the frontline while defending the country at the borders. They were accompanied by the country's only female para cyclist, Tanya Daga among others cyclists.