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At first glance Ajay Kumar Reddy is no different from the average guy you meet walking down the street.

All is not what it seems

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However, a closer look reveals that the man has problems with his sight. The left eye is completely blind and he can't see beyond two metres with his right one.

Nonetheless, this lad from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh is know the skipper of the Blind Indian cricket team and has just led the country to victory in the World T20 title clash.

He lost his vision as a child due to an eye infection and that hampered him for most part of the pre-teen years. But it did not dampen his determination to take up the sport.

Defiance in the face of adversity

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He would play cricket 'all night' under lights in childhood, to pursue the sport professionally. Cricket equipment, especially a bat (a good one can cost a few thousand rupees) can be expensive.

Life was one big ordeal for Ajay as he had to push himself much harder to compete with others till he joined the Lutheran High School for the Blind in Narsaraopet, in the seventh standard. The school was known for promoting cricketers and Ajay started playing the game.

As a farmer's son, he faced opposition from his own father to taking up the game, but it did not deter him from his goal.

When things got better

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Then came the turning point. A senior blind cricketer, G Nageshwar Rao told him about the selections for the Blind Andhra Pradesh team was on.

Ajay was selected for the AP team in 2006 and since then there has been no looking back.

This paved his way into the Indian team in 2010. In his very first tour to England in 2010 he won two man of the match awards.

Glory for the country

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More success was to follow Ajay as he was rewarded with the vice-captaincy for his efforts. He was part of the team that won the first ever World T20 for the Blind the same year. His 33-ball hundred against England is ranked right up there as one of the best knocks ever.

In 2014, Ajay had a big role in India winning the ODI World Cup. His aggressive batting helped India chase down 141 in 11 overs against Pakistan in the final.

During the latter part of last year, he was appointed the skipper and led the team to victory in the Asia Cup. The icing on the cake, however, was when the team defeated Pakistan to win the World T20 on February 12.

Decline in vision but still going strong

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However, the man has admitted that it all comes at a price.

"All my leaves expire due to cricket, so I've no leaves left for personal life-say for example taking my wife out for a holiday!"

Also his vision is fading slowly and that has not helped matters.

Ajay has always campaigned for more support for visually impaired cricketers as he feels they should get their dues.

His story is one of inspiration. It shows that if you are willing to defy the odds, you can achieve greatness no matter what life throws at you.

He is certainly a benchmark for those visually impaired people who want to take up the game and prove that they are no less.

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See the rest here:
The Story Of Ajay Kumar Reddy - From Losing His Vision As A Child To Leading India To The Blind World T20 Title - Indiatimes.com

This entry was posted on February 14, 2017 at 5:54 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |