Mohammad Shams Alam Shaikh has had an accomplished life thus far. By the age of thirty, he has graduated with a mechanical engineering degree. He is also a qualified coach and has a black belt in Karate.
However, he had had some major health issues. In 2010 he had to undergo many operations to repair a spine tumor. After the surgery, his doctor recommended swimming. He took up the sport and started to embrace butterfly. The exercise of swimming allowed his disability to decrease from 100% to only 72%. At the age of 24, he joined the Paraplegic Foundation- which is a NGO.
In December 2016, Shams won 4 gold medals in the championship held in Indore and was named the title of Best Swimmer.
Currently, Shams has been sponsored to complete an MBA at Satyam University in Chennai. Shams became the first Indian to complete 6km open water swimming, successfully organized by Indian Navy.
Like Shams, many para-swimmers are facing an up-hill battle in India. In the state of Maharashtra, there is not a culture that encourages helping the disabled. While Shams had applied for sponsorships, no action was taken by the government. This is different than the culture of Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, and Delhi- which have sponsorships available.
At the age of 30, Shams has his sights set on the Para Asian Games of 2018.
Shams Is Looking For A Sponsor Who Can Take Care Of His Training And Equipment Expenses On Yearly Basis, In Addition To His International Para Swimming World Series Which Is Going To Be Held At Berlin Germany From 6th To 9th July 2017.
Contact Details:-
Mobile Number – +919892760595
Aaccount Number For Donation – 30444191075 Sbi Bandra Turner Road Branch Mumbai.
“Yearly Expenses For Training And Development Rupees 250000/.”