Sports reporter
JAMMU: Boniface Prabhu – India’s No. 1 wheelchair tennis player for years and the country’s first ever Paralympic medal winner was today flagged off from Jammu by Divisional Commissioner, Pawan Kotwal on his road expedition from Kashmir to Kanyakumari (K2K) covering a distance of 3500 kilometers on wheels.
Starting on Wednesday, over the next 30 days, Boniface will participate in more than 50 events hosted and facilitated by India’s one of the largest selling soft drink brands – Thums Up jointly with the American India Foundation a leading NGO. Boniface as the lead of the ThumsUp VEER K2K expedition will meet thousands of people, students, government officers, civil society workers and sensitize them on various aspects and requirements of PWDs. He also aims to help train nearly 10,000 people in sign language and host awareness programs for them.
This first of its kind road expedition by a quadriplegic athlete, which also adds to the Government’s campaign for an Accessible India, was flagged off from the Hindustan Coca-Cola factory at Gangyal, here the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu in the presence of Abhishek Jugran, Zonal vice president (North), Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd.
Speaking at the flag off, Abhishek Jugran, said, “Thums Up along with partners American India Foundation and Being Human, already run the VEER campaign, which trains PWDs to make them employable. We are glad that Boniface is leading ThumsUp VEER K2K and I can’t think of a better place and time to start this journey. I look forward to working with Boniface and reviewing the outcomes of this expedition.”
