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Para Indian swimmer Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh has had a strong connection with water since the age of two. Hailing from Bihar's Madhubani district, which is in proximity to Nepal, swimming is a skill required for survival as the region is prone to floods in the monsoon period.
Madhubani, which is the heart of Mithila region, is fondly known for its pond culture and fish farming. It's a leisure for localities to take a dive in the ponds and Shams was no stranger to it. A two-year-old Shams covered the entire pond near his house in Rathaus village.
And this wasn't the time when the idea of swimming as a profession even struck the Bihar youngster's head. Inspired by the late Hong Kong-American iconic martial artist Bruce Lee, a teenager Shams initially set his heart on representing his country in one of the martial arts events at the global level.
The Bihar boy soon was engrossed in honing his passion into real dreams. He joined Sensai Umesh Murkar's academy to learn the art of Karate in 2002 when he was 16. In one year, Shams had a national championship gold medal around his neck.
As coach Umesh wrote about Shams' journey as a Karate champion, he was stunned to see the youngster's passion. Being a blue belt holder, he defeated the black belt players to win the grand championship.
Winning medals at national championships became a tradition for the boy from Madhubani; by age 23, he was a black belt holder. Shams wasn't far away from pursuing his teenage goal of participating in the Karate competition at the Asian Games after he was selected for the 2010 edition held in Guangzhou, China.
A series of unexpected events deterred the lifelong ambition of Shams. It all started with back pain during his final year in mechanical engineering, which caused compression in his spinal cord. MRI scans detected a benign tumor in the spine. The doctor recommended immediate surgery to ensure it didn't end up being fatal.
But things aggravated as the surgery, which was intended to push his participation in the Asian Games, reprehensibly turned him into a paraplegic — a person who is unable to move his legs and lower part of the body. Shams was confined to a wheelchair and the Karate dream was pulverized.
Back to Swimming
A glimmer of hope makes one stand tall in the face of adversity. Shams Aalam's late mother Shakeela Khatoon told him that if if God shuts one door, He will certainly open another one.
That new opportunity came through the channel of water. Swimming returned to his life, but this time it was not just for leisure. Rajaram Ghag, a paralympic swimmer who swam across the English Channel in 1988 with the best timing of 12:40, encouraged Shams to hit to water again as a means of aqua therapy that would initially help him revive his nervous system.
Shams went to the Paraplegic Foundation, a rehabilitation center in Mumbai, to exercise and also manage his physiotherapy. It was here that he discovered the fact that swimming is a part of para-athletic events. A new chapter of his life began that day, and there was no looking back.
In 2014, Shams participated in the 6km open-sea swimming in Mumbai, an event he completed in 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 28 seconds, a landmark that entered the Limca Book of Records. Three years later, he bettered his record, finishing 8km open-sea swimming in 4 hours and 4 minutes.
Shams Aalam won Bronze at the 2016 Can-Am Para Swimming Championships held in Gatineau, Quebec in the men's 100m Breaststroke SB4 category. At the Indian Open Para Swimming Championship in 2018, he bagged four gold medals. In 2022, he set a new national record, clocking 4:39.71s in the men's 200m Individual Medley SM5 event at the World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal.
Shams has a few people to credit in his transformative journey but on top of everything he is a self-affirmative person. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, the 37-year-old para swimmer said:
"I would like to give the most important and most encouraging person in my journey is myself. I mean the way I'm going through, getting struggles and everything, but still I'm not stopping is something very commendable."
Challenges don't stop for Shams Aalam
There aren't any challenges that haven't come through Shams Aalam's way. It's just that each of them makes him stronger with each day passing by. Be it finding help in public places, struggling to get his personal wheelchair at an airport facility, or getting mocked for age — challenges keep running through for the Bihar-born para-athlete.
"I remember I was in a national coaching camp and there a few coaches called a meeting. In front of everyone, there were around 15 to 20 athletes, and they pointed me out and asked my age, they asked me what is your financial status? How long you will keep playing? You need to just get retirement and focus on your personal life and financial things," Shams recalled the incident in a preparatory camp ahead of the World Para Swimming Championships.
The para swimmer was taken aback by the choice of questions. However, it was through his performances that he wanted to shut the noise and that's when he set the national record.
Shams Aalam makes it to Asian Para Games
Eight years after his dream of participating in the Asian Games was shattered because of the spinal tumor, Shams Aalam earned his ticket to the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. He became the first para-athlete from Bihar to participate in the quadrennial event. He featured in 100m breaststroke SB4, 200 m Individual Medley SM6, and 200 m Freestyle S5 events of para-swimming.
Shams also represented the country in the 2022 Asian Para Games held in Hangzhou recently, where India scripted a record-breaking tally of 111 medals. Although he couldn't finish on the podium, a personal best timing of 2:24.05 to finish fourth in the 100m breaststroke SB4 category was satisfactory for the 37-year-old.
"I participated last time in the 2018 Asian Para Games, which was in Jakarta, Indonesia. And this is my second one. So a huge difference in infrastructure things and volunteer support," Shams said comparing the two Para Games events he participated in.
"Here it was like a good (experience), I can say a bit more support in terms of volunteers, in terms of infrastructure. And in fact, performance-wise I have improved from my last time. So overall, this one is the best one, I can say," he added.
Bihar government's support comes as a huge relief for Paris preparations
Shams Aalam has been vocal against the Bihar government for its discrimination against para-athletes. The state government awards each athlete Rs 2 lakh for representing India at major international competitions. However, the para-swimmer only received Rs 50,000 instead. He wrote a letter to the then Bihar chief secretary Amir Subhani for the negligence of para players, but to no avail.
After his return from Hangzhou, a day before the Indian contingent was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shams Aalam got a message from Ravindran Shankaran, Director General of Bihar State Sports Authority, that the state government would support him in his quest for Paris Paralympics. The Bihar government will sanction a state scholarship of Rs 20 lakh for each annum for overseas training and tour exposure.
"I have I've been writing and raising my voice in Bihar and overall also everywhere to make the changes in the policy - sports policy and job policy - for para-athletes. And it was like a discriminating policy in Bihar. We have now a Bihar State policy for outstanding sports positions, job recruitment as well as for financial support. So now they have come up with a new policy, which is still at some point discriminative," Shams expressed his views on support from his state government.
"But at least at the national stage, they are they are giving equal opportunity. I mean still it needs changes at various points like the international level. But at least they have started at some point like national level, they have given all equal opportunity for athletes with and without disabilities," he added.
Shams believes a new sporting era will be marked in his home state Bihar with the change in approach towards para-athletes.
"So this is something good step, I can say. And they have come up with various scholarship programs. So I think it's a good new era in the sports of Bihar. And we had it for Bihar athletes, they are getting the support," he concluded.
Shams Aalam is currently based in Delhi and practices at the Talkatora Swimming Pool. He is also under the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) scheme. He will next take part in a qualification event for the 2024 Paris Paralympics in Croatia in December.
