This visually impaired footballer is now India's captain

Dubai: Losing your eyesight as a child can be shattering. The constant fight against darkness can be distressful but fighting against all the odds and making a statement needs courage and extraordinary motivation.

Hailing from a remote village in Gujarat, Vishnu Vaghela sets a perfect example of how one can fight adversity and still achieve great heights.

The 27-year-old's is now the captain of the Indian Blind Football Team and was recently named the Best Player at the prestigious BRICS Blind Football Tournament in Moscow.

But the route to success didn't come easy.

“I come from Vada village, two hours from Palanpur. My father is a farmer, and I’m the eldest of six siblings,” Vishnu told Better India.

“When I was a baby, I was sitting in my grandmother’s lap when my eyes suddenly turned white. The doctors said a nerve was damaged,” he added.

Vishnu had partial vision till he was reached class 4, but thereafter he completely lost his vision and efforts to restore it turned futile.

But it was after joining Mamta Mandir, a special school for the visually impaired, that changed Vaghela forever.

“I learnt how to use computers, studied Japanese massage techniques… but what truly changed my life was football,” he said.

Vishnu's favourite footballers like other youngsters are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, while at home, it's Sunil Chhetri.

Asked about his best performance, the Moscow tournament stands among the best.

““The atmosphere, the weather, the tournament — everything felt right. And pushing Brazil into a shootout was a big achievement,” he recalls.