When para-cyclists Shaikh Arshad and Jyoti Gaderia pedal for medals at the Paris Olympics, there will be one man who will be tracking their success closely. Aditya Mehta, who set up an eponymous foundation in Hyderabad 11 years ago where the duo trained, is key to India securing its first-ever cycling qualifications for the Paralympics.
Born into a bania family, Mehta says that before a bike accident in 2006 resulted in an amputated right leg, the only thing on his mind was making money and running his family business. He was struggling to adjust to his new prosthetic leg when a local cycling club drew him back to the sport he had loved as a kid.
