Vision loss did not stop this truly remarkable Man from becoming a noted marathon runner in India! Amarjeet Singh Chawla, whom people now known as Sporty Sikh, wasn’t born blind.

Can you tell us about your childhood and when did you start losing eyesight?

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – I have been a very active person since my childhood. Playing kabaddi, doing crazy things was my daily routine. But things started changing when I came to know in a school eye checkup camp that my vision isn’t normal. The eye specialists told my parents and me that I would lose my vision slowly and gradually. The thought of becoming 100% blind shook my parents and even me. It was the only reason I couldn’t become a fighter pilot back then.

How did you overcome such shocking news?

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – I tried hard to overcome the fear by loving my life as usual as I could. Same activities, same craziness, same zeal for life continued for years. It happened when I was 40. I was blind one day. The world was completely dark for me. It was that day that changed my life. Like any other average person, I went into depression for about a year or two. Thanks to my family and friends, I could live happily and earn my bread and butter. People around were supportive, and I was out of the depression. But there was incompleteness inside me.

Amarjeet Singh Chawla Motivation

What motivated me to start running marathons?

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – with Milind Soman

I tried keeping my adventurous side alive by going on small treks in Maharashtra. One fine day, I received a message from the National Association for the Blind (I was a member). The message mentioned that a group of blind people from NAB would participate in the first-ever Marathon in Mumbai. The Organisers told us that we would be given escorts from the Standard Chartered Bank.

I immediately agreed to the same. I wanted to be someone who isn’t just any other blind person living a random life. Soon mid-January 2004, I ran my first ever long-distance run of 7 kilometers with an employee of the Standard Chartered Bank. It was Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2004. It was a great feeling. People were cheering us, celebrities clapping for us. All this was a new and indefinable experience for me.

After getting back home, after a few days, I decided that I will take up running. I decided I will run more than this. The following year, in 2005, I ran my first half marathon (21.097kms.) at Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2015 with my escort. People like Kapil Dev and Anil Ambani met me and patted me on my back during the course. It all started there. There was simply no looking back! 

You have achieved many milestones. How long have you been doing this?

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – Finisher at Kotak Punjab Half Marathon

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – Today, after 15 years, I have run 116 half marathons of 21kms each. Not only this, but the list also includes sixty-seven 10kms and 12kms runs and five ultra runs (17, 24, 38, 50, 55kms). I have completed my first target of 101 half marathons in Tata Mumbai Marathon 2019.

I am the only blind person in India to run this number of half marathons. That event is like a milestone for me, I started there, and I achieved my first target there.

Amarjeet Singh Chawla recently completed the Mumbai-Pune run/walk and became the first blind person (60+) to do so. His next marathon target is 151 half marathons.

Do you trek frequently and swim too?

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – with Sachin Tendulkar

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – During these 15 years, I swam a lot, and I trekked a lot. I am the only blind person in the world to scale 19,830 ft high Dolma Pass in Kailash Parikrama, Tibet (China). Another feather in the cap is that I am the only blind person to have completed 1,100 ft Rappelling from Takmak Point in Raigad Fort (Maharashtra).

Apart from these, I have completed countless treks in the Himalayas (Himachal and Uttrakhand) and Sahyadris. Talking about swimming, I won the gold medal in 50mts. Freestyle in All India Swimming Competition for Disabled in 2004, silver medal in 50mts. Freestyle in Maharashtra Swimming Competition for Disabled in 2005. Also, I won bronze in 50mts—Breast-stroke in Maharashtra Swimming Competition for Disabled in 2007. 

I am not bragging about these things, but I feel great when I think about these events. Finally, I can say that I don’t feel like a blind person who lost his vision and hope in life. I can proudly say that I didn’t give up and became someone whom people would pity.

Amarjeet Singh Chawla – The Sporty Sikh inspiring others

When people say I inspire them, I feel even more motivated to achieve newer records.

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