Mohammed Asif Iqbal will compete in the next Tata Steel Kolkata 25K with the goal of being the first Indian-Asian runner who is visually challenged to finish the competition’s 25 kilometers without any assistance from others.

“Up until the age of 16, I could only see 50% of the world, and then I entirely lost my vision. But it didn’t stop me from aiming for my objectives. I’ve been participating in races in Kolkata for the past five years,” Asif stated.

During the marathon, Salt Lake resident Asif will be joined by two of his friends. Asif will be able to determine the precise location of his running buddies thanks to his companions’ waist-mounted wireless speakers.

“I’ll be running without any bodily assistance while wearing a blindfold. My buddy runner will give me an audio description of the surroundings, and that will allow me to follow them and reach my aim” said the 46-year-old Associate Director at PwC Consulting in Kolkata.

“I have taken part in several races in Kolkata, and in January, I’ll run the Mumbai marathon. I have been blessed to have my family’s full support for this, and I won’t let them down,” he continued.

Asif stated that there would be an Asia Book of Records representative there for his attempt at the TSK 25K.

Asif aims to complete the 25 Km run within 3 hours and 35 minutes. To achieve this objective, he had been practicing for a long time and hopes to get positive results.

Priyanka Dutta