Maksud Alam Mollah won three medals in cycling at the Special Olympics in Los Angeles last month but came back with only two. The 22-year-old can’t recall where and how he misplaced the bronze that he had won in the 5km time trial event.

The only cyclist from Bengal in the Indian contingent has a condition called intellectual disability, characterised by a particularly weak memory. “He must have kept the bronze medal somewhere in the hotel or with a friend and forgotten about it,” said mother Kamruneesa.

Maksud has been taught to write down everything so that he doesn’t forget. But if there’s one thing that this young man from Dhulagarh, in Howrah, doesn’t need to be reminded of, it is how to cycle like a champion.

Maksud is convinced he would have won a fourth medal in Los Angeles with the cycle of his choice. “I had difficulty with the cycle that I was first given. It had a flat handlebar. My personal cycle has a curved handlebar. I couldn’t perform well in the first event because of this,” he recalled.

Athletes don’t take their own equipment to the Special Olympics. The Bharat chapter of the Games arranges everything.

“We changed Maksud’s cycle after we learnt that he was having difficulty riding the first one,” said Ashim Pal, the coach who had accompanied the Bengal contingent.

After that first hiccup and a new cycle, Maksud won a medal each in the three other events he competed in, including gold in the 5km road race and silver in the 10km road race.

To his parents, Maksud misplacing his third Special Olympics medal is just another footnote in his journey from Howrah to Los Angeles.

His elder brother Manzoor has the same condition and almost every day brings a new challenge for Kamruneesa and her husband Abu Sattar Mollah. “We had a zari business but couldn’t sustain it after I fell ill. My wife bought a sewing machine and started taking bulk orders for readymade pyjamas. I now run a small shop for candy and chocolates,” said Abu.

Although life is a struggle, the Mollahs are glad that Maksud has found his mission. “I feel proud of my son,” smiled Kamruneesa.

Only three years ago, the prospects weren’t so bright. Maksud had joined the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH) in Bonhooghly in 2012 with diminished cognitive abilities.

“He was studying in a madarsa but had fallen behind in studies. He couldn’t follow his lessons properly. We had to support and encourage him so that his performance improved. His cognition has since improved, which is why he is being able to perform better in sports as well,” said one of Maksud’s teachers at NIMH.

Help has come in other ways too. “The institute would often waive the fees for Maksud’s education. His coach hasn’t taken his fees for several months,” Kamruneesa said.

At NIMH, Maksud has trained under Tamal Chatterjee, the games teacher who also runs a sports centre called KC Memorial at Kamarhati. “I introduced Maksud to various sports. Through trial and error, I realised that cycling was his strongpoint. He went to the National Games organised by Special Olympics Bharat in Bhopal last year, where he was selected for the Special Olympics in Los Angeles,” Chatterjee said.

The selected athletes were required to attend four camps, where they were tested and trained in behaviour and independence, among other things. Maksud needed time to adjust to the fact that he would have to stay without his mother by his side for some time, Chatterjee recalled.

At KC Memorial, Maksud would practise using Chatterjee’s cycle. He got his own cycle after being selected for the Los Angeles trip.

Some residents of the neighbourhood and the panchayat pradhan of Dhulagarh, Rampada Dhonk, pooled in money for Maksud to buy his first cycle. The West Bengal chapter of Special Olympics Bharat sponsored his gear.

“The central government has announced cash awards for the winners. Gold medallists will be given Rs 5 lakh, silver medallists will receive Rs 3 lakh and bronze medal winners will get Rs 1 lakh each,” said Ashoke Chaki, the treasurer of Special Olympics Bharat, West Bengal.

For Maksud, the wheels of success and recognition have just been set in motion.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Dalia Mukherjee / Tuesday – September 01st, 2015