Young TT player defies 90% paralysis to be a national champ

LUDHIANA: At the age of 19, Shubham Wadhwa, a resident of Sham Nagar, faced the prospect of a life confined to the bed. An accident left him bedridden for three years and depressed. His dream of going abroad had shattered as 90% of his body, below his chest, was paralyzed. However, he managed a turnaround, going on to become the current as well as national champion of table tennis under the Class III para category. He is also looking for international sponsors.Now 26, Shubham has been getting table tennis training from a private academy run by Sahil Sharma and Nirdosh Sood.  He said, "I started playing TT when I was in school. I was also into body building and would do modelling in Delhi. After schooling, my plan was to go abroad, for which I started pursuing a course of hotel management but I met with an accident in 2016 when I was going with my friend on his bike near Kochar Market. I was riding pillion. My friend breaked abruptly when stray dog jumped before the bike. I was tossed in the air and hit a transformer, after which I sustained a spinal cord injury, while my friend escaped unhurt. For one and a half months, I was on ventilator and bedridden for three years."As he lay in bed, his dependence on others for basic chores and lack of hope sent him on a downward spiral. That is when his friend Sandeep suggested that he take up table tennis under the para category. "I want to play for India in the Asian championship and Paralympics, for which I need to play at least six more international games. I played twice on the international level, once in Brazil, which was sponsored by the government and once in Spain, expenses of which were borne by my family. We don't have money to play internationally anymore and are looking for sponsors. My father works as a hotel manager while my mother is a homemaker, they cannot afford to send me abroad," he said.