Champs impress city people at TEDx Hyderabad

Hyderabad: “Turn road blocks into building blocks,” 14-year-old mountaineering champ Sriperambuduru Jaahnavi told a packed hall of 1,500 at the Sandhya Convention Centre while speaking at TEDx Hyderabad on Sunday.

Explaining her experiences on her journey and future plans in climbing the highest peak, she said, “Climbing up was optional but getting down was mandatory. The lesson I learnt is that you have to first understand your weaknesses and strengths. That will make you perfect. In many professions you make mistakes and you may have a chance to rectify it, but in mountaineering there is no undo. So it makes your decision making accurate and helps your mind to understand the concept of focus.” Ms Kiran Kanojia who survived a major accident, lost a limb and became the first woman blade runner said, “I run for passion. I run to be fit. I run for the sense of achievement that I get when I push my limits.” Later, Olympic medal winner and shooter Gagan Narang said, “There are no retakes. You prepare for four long years for one hour of performance and that's what makes or breaks you. So the idea is not how hard you get hit, but how fast you can get up.”

Visually-challenged entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla,  founder of Bollant Industries, which secured investment from the likes of Ratan Tata, said, “When people say I may have some sight because I walk so confidently, I tell them that sight is for the eyes and vision for the mind.”

Numbers maestro Sanjay Jain, marine biologist Asha De Vos from Sri Lanka were among the 13 speakers who spoke.