He lost his left leg in a train accident in 1986 when he was just 19 at Palej in Gujarat. He was taken to a civil hospital, where doctors amputated his left leg, below the knee.

"I was so depressed to see myself without a leg," Thakur told IANS. "I asked the doctor to give me an injection of poison." He didn't want to be dependent on anybody else.

"However, the doctor and the nurse there were very sympathetic and they pepped me up. They advised me to get a Jaipur Foot (a prosthetic limb) fitted.

"I came to Jaipur at Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti, and they equipped me with the Jaipur Foot. Since then my life has changed," said Thakur, who went on to pass school.

Thakur, now 38, lives with his wife, a 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. He earns his livelihood by repairing electrical motors.

"I had learnt the task of repairing motor winding machines at the Industrial Training Institute in Gujarat and now Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti has given me a job," Thakur said.

At the Samiti, Thakur saw a photograph of an American athlete, which inspired him to take to athletics in a serious way, in spite of his disability. 

Thakur says, "I was a champion athlete in 100 metres as well as the high and long jumps during school days. When I lost my leg I thought I would not be able to participate in athletics. But then I saw a picture of a disabled American athlete at the Samiti. It inspired me so much that I can now climb a tree easily."

With his right leg and the Jaipur Foot fitted over his left leg, he also engages in mountaineering while cycling is part of his daily routine. And, mind you, he uses a regular bicycle.

Thakur now travels all over the world, meets disabled people and tries to counsel them. He has been to the Philippines, the West Indies, the US, Vietnam, Singapore, Bangladesh, Sudan and Afghanistan to help other disabled people stand on their own feet by using the Jaipur Foot.

He and two other disabled people were among the 87 cyclists in an expedition called 'Knit India' launched Nov 1, 1988.

The rally, in which legendary Baba Amte also took part, began from Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, passed through 15 states and ended in Okha in Gujarat March 26, 1989, covering a distance of 8,500 km.

Thakur says he has participated in a 22-km mini-marathon. And he has donated blood 16 times.

He intends to take up cudgels for disabled people in sports. He has already established the Rajasthan Sports Disabled Society where disabled sportspersons share their experiences and try to help others in the fraternity. 

Thakur has also set his sights on the Para-Olympics of 2008, to be held in China.