Though affected by polio at a tender age of five, nothing stopped him from chasing his dreams. His passion for sports made him fight his disabilities and turn them into his success stories. Mohammed Farooq is a 37-year old cricketer from Karimnagar in Telangana. Struck by polio, he was confined to using a wheelchair since his childhood.
Farooq has participated in several international tournaments. He has taken part in Paralympic contests for badminton, table tennis and the wheelchair race - all this without even a coach to train him. He has worked his way up to being a senior player in Telangana. He was always run by his belief that he could make a living with his passion for sports. But soon it became difficult for him to manage both his living and his passion at a time. Farooq drives auto rickshaw to make both ends meet but his worry is that because of these financial issues he is unable to pursue his career in sports.
For this, he had approached many authorities including the concerned Collector and submitted several letters and applications, but none of them turned out successful. While sportspersons from other states receive help from their governments it is sad to see the state of Farooq. He is waiting for the help of Government to go to Kathmandu on 13 October for an international tournament. Let’s hope from the bottom of our hearts that this man reaches new heights and continue making our country proud.
