Arunima Sinha

“I wanted to live further but wanted to do something special. I took it upon myself to remover the tag of being 'helpless'.”

“If god closes one door, he opens 10 other doors. I believe Im alive today to achieve something. Set the goal and work relentlessly without fear.”

“But I didnt feel like an invalid even for a second. I knew that I could never be the player that I was, so I wanted to do something different - so different that everybody would say that it would be impossible.”

“I was a volleyball player. After the accident, I played the sport in a wheelchair but never liked it. I wanted to live my life like a queen.”

“I had bought some land in Unnao with the money I got after the accident. I plan to build a sports academy for the disabled there.”

“I wanted to tell everyone that I'm on top of the world, especially to those people who thought a woman and an amputee couldn't do it. I took off my mask and screamed, and my sherpa just stared at me.”

“I never sat on a wheelchair during my recovery, never wanted to sit at all. Its also a bit psychological. I thought if I sat on a wheelchair once, itll remain stuck to me for a lifetime.”

“When I was in the hospital, everyone was worried for me, and I realised that I had to do something in my life so that people would stop looking at me with pity. I spoke to my elder brother and my coach about climbing the Everest, and they encouraged me.”

“I would not have climbed Everest had I not met with the accident in 2011. Though I lost my leg, it made me a stronger person.”

“My life has been all about risks.”

“Ever since I lost my limb and started walking with a prosthetic leg, I had been working only on my goal of conquering the 29,000 feet summit. Now that it has been achieved, my next goal is the Seven Summits.”

“Anything can happen at anytime on the mountains.”

“My artificial leg was very unstable on the ice so I had to be before careful. I couldn't tend to my wounds because my amputated leg would have suffered frostbite. I couldn't even remove my gloves.”

“They say our lives are scripted in advance. We just play our part and fate intervenes in mysterious ways to ensure that no one deviates from the script. It was a wrong date of birth on my CISF interview call later that led me to my taking the train journey that changed the course of my life forever.”

“The injuries and subsequent incidents inspired me to do something. I converted my weakness into my strength and made it my weapon.”

“I chose to climb Everest because I thought it was the toughest thing to do. In May 2011, I made the decision and by March 2012 I had started training for it.”

“Conquering Island Peak was very important as it increased my confidence.”

“Whenever the national para-athletic games are held, information does not reach the athletes. Whether the physically-challenged athletes participate or not, is a different question. But, we should be informed at least by emails.”

“By conquering all the seven summits I will prove that physical disability can never be a hindrance in achieving your life's goal if you have mental strength, strong willpower and firm determination.”

“Everyone in my family enjoys sports and I was naturally athletic as a child. I have been cycling since I can remember, had previously represented by school in football and later my college at national level volleyball.”