The 22-year-old, who is known in the Fort area as someone who does odd jobs by moving around in his hand-operated bicycle-cum-chair, had strangers coming up to him on Sunday to congratulate him after he completed the half-marathon.

“I have been taking part in the Dream Run Since 2005, but I wanted to run the half-marathon. And despite repeated discouragements for the last two years, nothing could stop me this time,” said Soni.

Soni, who walks on one leg has to make a lot of effort to even get up, completed 21 km in three hours. “It was difficult, I tripped, but people cheered me on and that helped me reach the finishing line,” he said.

There were hurdles, but that did not deter Soni from practising half-an-hour at four o’clock in the morning daily since a month prior to the actual event.

And it’s not just physical difficulties-many advised him to participate in the wheelchair event since “I fitted that slot perfectly”.

Emphasising that he wanted to make people realise that the differently-abled are also a part of society, Soni said: “Why should we be perceived as different, we want to be part of an inclusive society.”

And Soni says that by completing the half-marathon he has proved that all challenges can be met by sheer strength of mind. “If I can overcome my problems, so can others. We don’t need a wheelchair, all we need is willpower and support,” he added.