How Umar Saifi is powering para-athlete Simran Sharma’s next chapter

For the past seven months, Paris Paralympic medalist Simran Sharma has been crafting a new chapter in her athletic journey as part of her preparations for the upcoming World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.

Simran has been training tirelessly, building rhythm and carefully matching every step with a young and dedicated Umar Saifi as her new guide runner.

Running in sync

Simran embarked on this journey when her coach and husband Gajender Singh spotted the 21-year-old athlete during training sessions at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Guided by instinct and experience, Gajender saw potential and approached Umar with a proposal to become Simran’s guide runner.

“It’s been seven months now. I was working out in Delhi when (Gajender) sir saw me train and offered me to be Simran’s guide. I agreed after giving it a thought,” Umar told The Bridge.

What followed was a partnership built on trust and a vision to stand shoulder to shoulder, ready to give it their all when the time comes.

Simran is a visually impaired para-athlete who competes in 200m T12 event. She had won a bronze medal with a personal best effort of 24.75s at the Paris Paralympics with Abhay Singh as her guide.

In the T12 category, a guide runner runs alongside the para athlete through the entirety of the race, only stepping back to let the para athlete cross the finish line ahead in keeping with the guidelines.

Despite the success at Paris, Abhay Singh’s unavailability led to the search, eventually bringing Umar into the picture.

Who is Umar Saifi?

Umar Saifi is a promising 100m and 200m sprinter who hails from Muradnagar in Uttar Pradesh. His father serves with the Uttar Pradesh police and mother is a housewife. 

“Pehli baar didi ke saath bahar jake participate kiya (I competed with Simran for the first time in such a big tournament),” said Umar, a final year BSc student, referring to the Paris Grand Prix held in June this year.

“Initially, track par practice karte waqt time laga. Slowly, I started learning. Now things are settling in. I am gaining confidence, on ground and personally too. I learn so much from her,” he added.

Over the course of the past seven months, Umar has become more than just Simran’s guide runner — he is now part of what coach Gajender calls “a family.” 

Together, they are building rhythm both on the track and off it.

“Umar is from Muradnagar and we are from Modinagar, the distance is only 6-7 kms. He is like a family member. We are undergoing some good training. During the course of our training we try to be creative and then I take separate sessions with Umar to build synchronization. We’re still in the learning phase,” coach Gajender said.

Apart from his duties as the guide, Umar is also carving out his own path in able-bodied events. He clocked an impressive 21.6 seconds in the 200m to finish second in his first meet. And only last week, he won 200m gold at the Delhi Open State Championship.

With eyes set on gold, Simran, Umar and their coach Gajender remain grounded.

“We hope Simran and Umar remains fit, and can focus on workout and recovery. We’re going very well and are in shape. I believe we can win gold for India,” Gajender concluded with a promise and a strong belief.