WINNING LAURELS AGAINST ALL ODDS

Amputee athlete Sadashiv Shinde overcomes challenges to achieve gold in wheelchair basketball

- Alpana Chowdhury

Recently, Sadashiv Shinde was part of the winning team from Maharashtra, that won two gold cups at the ninth Wheelchair Basketball Championship.

Sadashiv’s is a remarkable story of grit and determination. An amputee, who lost his right leg after a road accident in his village, Limbgaon, when he was fourteen years old, he has come a long way from his feeling of utter helplessness. Apart from his physical disability, Sadashiv had to cope with economic challenges as well. His father being a daily-wages labourer, money was always an issue in his home, a bamboo-and-tarpaulin hut on a footpath in Bhandup. But, slowly, he overcame all these handicaps, and proved that where there is a will the way will appear.

I came upon Sadashiv a few months ago, at a most unlikely event. Part of a fashion show organised by Rotary International District 3141 in a five-star hotel, where lissom models sashayed down the catwalk, striking dramatic poses, Sadashiv walked the ramp on one leg with the help of crutches. Participating in the section for the physically disabled, curated by Shaline Serpes, Sadashiv was no less impressive than the professional models. Dressed to in a Sajjad Naseem-designed outfit, he graced the runway confidently, flashing smiles and ending with a delightful pirouette.