Dhillon’s participation in the marathon will inspire many people to take part in such events in the future.
Singh has been struggling to find employment and remains unemployed since last one and a half years. He had to quit his previous job as his organization had denied him an education leave. As a result of this, Singh doesn’t mention about his disability in his resume or application. However, employers continue to remain biased towards him due to his disability and are conservative.
Manjinder considers Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens as one of his inspirations. He said, “My family is undergoing financial problems. Father is bed-ridden and my siblings work but are trying hard to make ends meet. When it comes to running Singh has not received much support from his family. By participating in the marathon, I aim to keep all these negative feelings of rejections from jobs and the lack of family support, at bay.”
Rajinder Kaur sister of Manjinder said, “He has been running from the past 10 years. If he participates in the marathon he will inspire many people to take part in such events in the future. Despite being visually impaired Manjinder remains undeterred and take up the challenge and face all hurdles in life.”
He plans to pursue his passion with dedication. He has been participating in the marathon since its second edition. The 39 year old is leaving no stone unturned to prepare for the event.
Manjinder Singh said, “I have partial visibility hence I cannot drive vehicles. I love running and its my passion. I have worked for more than five year in a MNC and three years in multimedia. I am unable to perform some of the work done by others due to disability. I can’t perform those tasks which require good vision as it’s a huge challenge. I look at life with a positive attitude. After completing marathon I share my experiences with my friends who get inspired by it. I receive good support from my family members.”
“I was one of the very few to have completed the run and that really motivated me to take up running seriously. Then Mumbai Marathon happened in 2004. The first year I was not able to participate in the run, but I have participated in almost every year since 2005. In 2014, I took seven hours to complete the full marathon but was not disappointed. But now I want to see to it that I am able to complete the run within five hours” added Mr Singh.