India - A tale of grit and determination

A tale of grit and determination
Mangalore, July 16, DHNS:
Shailiesh Nerlikar is different from other chess players in one aspect.
The 33-year-old, who hails from a small village near Kohlapur, Maharashtra, suffers from a chronic bone disease that has left him paralysed since six.
Diagnosed with skeletal flurosis due to the consumption of fluoride-laden water drived from borewells, Nerlikar can neither walk nor sit because of extremely fragile bones and joints locked.
Despite the handicap, Nerlikar never gave up and chose to take up chess. Self taught, Nerlikar competed in his first tournament in 2002 and won his first title in Pune three years later.