Hon’ble CM BS Yediyurappa to flag off the ride at Vidhana Soudha tomorrow at 11am
Bengaluru, December 28: Aditya Mehta Foundation’s (AMF) ongoing Infinity Ride 2020 has so far covered 31 cities and India’s first-ever para cyclist Aditya Mehta alongside country’s para cycling team arrived in Bangalore as part of their mission to create awareness about para sports during their 3842km-long and a 36-city, 45-day challenging cycling ride from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
During the journey, the riders have so far visited various NGOs, schools to interact and inspire children and other specially-abled people. One such interaction happened on Saturday following their arrival at city hub, Koramangala where the 30-member Infinity Ride team visited The Mitti Cafe—a chain of inclusive cafes entirely run by specially-abled people.
“We are delighted to visit and interact with people at Mitti Cafe today. We are also specially-abled and we spent time with the specially-abled working staff of the cafe and interacted with them about para sports and how each of them can be empowered to the next level as we shared our journey and stories from our life experiences to motivate and encourage them. We also explained to them, what it means to play for India and how it feels when you win a medal for the country,” said Aditya Mehta, the founder of Aditya Mehta Foundation and also a Limca Book of Records holder who is currently on a mission to create para sports champions for India.
In a freewheeling interaction, the cyclists shared their own life changing experiences with the specially-abled cafe employees and further highlighted the fact about how sports have not only empowered them but as sportsperson representing India has given a purpose to each of their lives.
“The team at the Mitti Cafe really enjoyed interacting with para cyclists. The cyclists shared their journey and a lot of other things. Our team enthralled to hearing about them. Cyclists in turn saw inclusion of healthy food at the cafe which was very interesting for them to understand how healthy food can be made and served by these specially-abled people and how they are leading life with dignity and earning with love and respect. For me inclusion has been about acceptance of persons with disabilities in every aspect of work and making them feel absolutely loved in this space. To make them feel capable in every sense and work independently and happily,” said Darshana Nahata, Creative Head at Mitti Cafe.
The Infinity Ride 2020, a brain-child of Aditya Mehta Foundation, aims to spread awareness about para sports and scout talent to train and nurture them at the Asia’s first-ever Infinity Para Sports Academy and Rehabilitation Centre in order to groom the talent and prepare them to win medals for the country at the international stage.
Following a stop in Bengaluru, the sixth edition of Infinity Ride will resume their remaining journey of 705km on Sunday with Karnataka’s Hon’ble Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa flagging off the ride at Vidhana Soudha in the morning. The riders will then head towards Tamil Nadu through Dharmapuri and further visit three more cities before reaching their destination Kanyakumari on December 31.
About Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF):
“Our vision is to make India a superpower in the world of para sports.” Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF) is a non-profit organisation which aids people with disabilities to pursue sporting careers while also providing them self-sustenance. The Foundation, which started in 2013, has grown by leaps and bounds in the short span of time. Based in Hyderabad, the foundation has managed to span out to virtually every corner of the nation and have contributed in creating para champions who have been winning medals for India. It represents a unique cause and seeks to help a neglected part of a fairly large population.
About Infinity Ride:
The AMF raises funds through its signature Fund-Raising event, the Infinity Ride, and also scouts for talent among the population of people with disability and trains them from the grassroots as well. With the money raised, it also provides counselling and helps them get better at their sport or even find a sport that is suitable for them. It provides the necessary equipment, training and funding for these athletes as well to help them grow in their sport and compete at the International level. Along with the civilian talent, a major part of the foundation’s efforts is directed at finding and nurturing talent from nation’s Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CRPF and ITBP), which have a number of soldiers who have suffered debilitating or permanent injuries while serving the country at the border or in naxal-hit areas and now are trained to become potential talents for the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
In its sixth edition, the upcoming ride will take place from Kashmir to Kanyakumari; traversing 3842 km through difficult and mountainous terrain with support of Border Security Force (BSF) who have partnered and supported AMF to execute the ride. Border Security Force (BSF) was the only organisation who believed in our cause from the very beginning and supported us since the inception of this ride and later Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) also joined hands for this cause.
