Simran's Journey From Being A Preterm Baby to Qualifying for Paralympics #EmbraceEquity

By Ruchi Sharma

A baby born as a preemie is a nightmare for all parents. You weave so many dreams for your child and to see her struggling for life, day and night in an incubator for seven long months is nothing short of torture for parents. But Simran Sharma was a born fighter! When doctors declared it’s tough for her to survive, she proved them wrong.

Pic Source: TOI

Unfortunately, when life takes your test, the situations aren’t in your favour. Because of being born premature, she had very weak eyesight. She couldn’t see clearly beyond 10 metres and was called names and what not for it. She said, “I have been interested in sports since childhood. Due to premature delivery, I had very weak eyesight. I used to be embarrassed and shy when people used to call me names and make fun of me. I used to be hesitant and gave up on things thinking I would not be able to do it." 

They say behind the success of every man, there is a woman but sometimes it can be reversed too! It happened in Simran’s life and she met her husband Naik Gajendra Singh from the Indian Army who became her coach. He encouraged her to pursue running in the 100 m category. She said, “"It all started for me after marriage. My husband's family hails from a village. It was initially hard having to deal with taunts and discouraging words from the relatives and neighbours”. It was hard for her but her mentor cum coach and husband supported her against all odds and didn’t hesitate to sell his land and even take loans from friends to support Simran’s training.

Pic Source: TOI

And thus history was scripted as Simran became the first Indian woman to qualify for Paralympics for 100 m track event at an age of just 22 years. She clocked in the 100 m race in just 12 seconds to qualify for Tokyo Paralympics 2020.

She is a proud gold medalist at the 2019 China Grand Prix and the world para grand prix Dubai 2021 too. Unfortunately, an injury did not allow her to participate at the paralympics and broke her dream of breaking the world record. In her words, “I have struggled with injuries a lot during my career. I met with an accident just before the final trials of the Paralympics. Even during the Paralympics, I sustained a hamstring injury, doctors advised my husband not to allow me to compete at the Games. The doctors also said if I compete, the injury might worsen and I might have to bear the brunt of it lifelong.”

Pic Source: The Bridge

This along with many other setbacks like losing her father, would have led to breaking anyone’s spirits being broken, but Simran hasbeen a born fighter and her eyes are set on breaking the world record and bringing laurels for India.

A true power couple in all senses! A man can be a support system for his wife too. We are proud of them and can’t wait to see what Simran achieves next!

Here's another inspiring story- 'Devi Verma Proved That Age Cannot Keep You Away from Living Your Destiny!'.

Image in Banner Source and Other information from TOI. Interview snippets from Sportskeeda.