Riding for a cause

Aditya Mehta Foundation’s ‘Infinity Ride’ to raise funds for the country’s top para-athletes took off from Hyderabad on Wednesday and it will conclude at Tirupati Temple on August 15. The Ride was flagged off by T Padma Rao, Telangana's Sports Minister.

The six-day ride on bicycles will see 25 civilians and 25 BSF personnel cover a distance of approximately 130 kilometres a day. The objective of the ride is to build awareness along the way.

The third edition of Infinity Ride is led by top para-athletes like wheelchair tennis Champion Madhu Bagri and Asian Para-Cycling Championship silver medalistDivij Shah.

“This is a great initiative by the AMF to reach out to our specially- abled athletes in need,” T Padma Rao said, as the riders set out on the journey. “I am an integral part of this mission as Aditya Mehta through his foundation and his rides have changed more than 80 lives in the last two years. I will do whatever I can to support this noble cause,” he added.

The AMF has already raised substantial funds through its Infinity Rides. This year, it aims to go bigger with the 700-km ride from Hyderabad to Tirupathi with wheelchair tennis player Madhu Bagri attempting to ride a Hand Cycle (Tri-Cycle) for the very first time.

“The motto of Aditya Mehta Foundation is to challenge and attempt the unthinkable. We have an aim of winning 100 medals for India at the 2020 Paralympics and we will keep working towards it,” Aditya Mehta, who is also the coach of the Indian para-cycling team, said.