Inspirational Leeds man with cerebral palsy wins main prize at Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever Awards 2022

The annual awards returned this month, celebrating young South Asians who have overcome disadvantages and have broken down traditional barriers to progress.

Neil Bharat Patel from Leeds won the title of overall Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever 2022, for overcoming the challenges he faces as a South Asian and having cerebral palsy.

The 29-year-old British Indian was nominated for the YAYA Awards in the overcoming life obstacles category had come from his University of Bradford professor.

Neil said his relocation from Leeds to London for his first professional job was a significant life obstacle that he had to overcome - especially without his disability aids.

Finding London to be far less disability-friendly than his home city, he added: “I had to do long hours and 5 days a week - waking up at 5am and not coming home till around 6.30pm to 7pm, travelling 3 hours a day.”

At birth, Neil was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and would often be seen walking around on his tiptoes as a child. To correct this, he had undergone surgery which was successful. Nonetheless, he is now wheelchair-bound.

Describing the YAYA awards event on November 11 “like the film awards you see on TV”, Neil said he was very surprised and that winning such an award feels like a big achievement.

He said it has now also inspired him to achieve more, with greater belief in himself and self-confidence. He hopes to continue building his professional career and becoming the best software developer he can be. He said: “There is no limit in what you can achieve.

“I want to say thank you to my university professor for nominating me, organisers QED and everyone who supported the event, my parents, family and everyone that helped me get this far.”

The winners of the YAYA Awards were announced over a celebratory dinner at Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford by Noreen Khan, BBC TV and radio presenter and stand-up comedian.

Other winners from Leeds include: Arif Ahmed in media category, Muhammed Waqar Ahmed in overcoming life obstacles category, Benji Chandra in health category, Ubaid Hussain in sports category and Aminah Ahmed in education category.