Techie Shams Aalam braves Goa sea & immobility to create swimming record

Panaji, Apr 9: Nearly six years ago, growing up at Bandra in Mumbai, 24-year-old mechancial engineer Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh's life centred around karate. A black belt holder and a qualified coach with over 40 gold medals to his credit, Shaikh enjoyed a carefree life. Till he was diagonsed with a tumour in his spine.

Numerous surgeries later, his lower body was paralysed. On Saturday, at Candolim beach in Goa, he braved the sea and his immobility to break his own record for the longest open sea swimming by a paraplegic.

It was a test of endurance for this 30-year-old, who swam 8km on the seas along Sinquerim-Baga-Candolim belt in 4 hours and 4 minutes. "I expected to complete the distance within two to two and a half hours, but I had to swim against a very strong tide for a larger part of the course," said Shaik, who used the break between his MBA final exams at Sathyabama University in Chennai to come to Goa to achieve the feat.

"I want to prove that it is possible for persons with disabilities and spinal cord injuries to push themselves beyond their limits," he said, adding that he would apply for the Limca Book of World Records, Asian Book of Records and the Guinness World Records.

"I was assessed with 100% disability in 2012. I didn't even have control over passing urine. Swimming the butterfly helped me a lot and today I don't need a catheter to relieve myself. This is a huge achievement for me and I was assessed as having 72% disability during the latest review, all because of swimming," he said on the sidelines of the first-ever wheelchair accessible beach festival being held on Candolim beach.

It was swimming that helped him overcome depression and improve his mobility.

"People with disabilities should motivate themselves to come out of their homes, but for this we need the government's support to make spaces, buildings and transportation accessible," he said, before leaving for Chennai to appear for his MBA exams.

Unfortunately, most swimming pool complexes and their washrooms aren't accessible to persons with disabilities. "Competing at a professional level is secondary for us. We would first like to be able to swim for enjoyment."

Shaikh is now gearing up for the 2018 Asian Games and is hoping to find the right coach to train him for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.