#SpreadTheLight: Help The Quint Help Para-Athlete Shweta Sharma

This Diwali, let’s spread the light in Shweta Sharma’s life. (Photo: The Quint)

What’s your plan for Diwali? Let us guess… You’ve been invited for a couple of card games over drinks. Poker nights! Buy a few crackers for your kids to pollute the already smogged sky. Or to buy enough mithais to last you a month. In short, you’ve got enough cash to have a great Diwali. But how about we ask you to keep aside some money to help someone else have a cracker of a Diwali too? Not that difficult, right?

About Spread The Light

Here’s an idea. How about you #SpreadTheLight – a campaign initiated by The Quint. This festive season, you can join us in raising money to light up para-athlete Shweta Sharma’s life. Sounds cool, haina?

So what are you waiting for? Join The Quint in partnership with Ketto and #SpreadTheLight.

The upcoming para-athlete has excelled in javelin throw, shot put and weightlifting. (Photo: The Quint)

Why are we raising funds for Shweta?

Shweta hasn't let polio get in the way of her sporting talent. The upcoming para-athlete has excelled in javelin throw, shot put and weightlifting. Last year, at the 16th National Para-Athletics Championship in Panchkula, Haryana, she won a gold in shot put and a silver in javelin throw (F-54 category). She also bagged a silver (51kg category) at the 15th National Powerlifting Championship in Bangalore, Karnataka.

The 31-year-old lacks monetary facilities; she learnt her moves only by watching videos of Rio Paralympics silver medalist Deepa Malik on YouTube. Shweta has no para-athlete trainer and the only training she gets is from a gym instructor near her house. She’s so financially constrained that she didn’t have enough money to buy her own wheelchair. Malik gave Shweta her first wheelchair so that she could continue with her training. Shweta is separated from her husband and lives with her ageing parents and her two kids. Now, she aims to participate in international tournaments and make India proud – just like her inspiration Deepa Malik did.

Utilisation of funds

The Quint needs to raise Rs 5 lakh for Shweta, which will help her travel abroad for tournaments and bring some glory back to India, for her training, diet and her medical and sports equipment. Shweta is not just a para-athlete but also a single mother of two, who’ll need all the help and support she can get from us.

This Diwali, let’s do our bit to add some cheer and sparkle to her life. Help The Quint help Shweta!

Producer: Tridip Mandal and Vatsala Singh

Edited: Puneet Bhatia

Cameraman: Abhay Sharma