Mumbai: The pain of losing his eyesight to a retinal disease has prompted Japan's leading visually impaired runner Yuichi Takahashi to overcome all apprehensions about coming to Mumbai, which was attacked by terrorists in November last, for this Sunday's Marathon race.

"There are many eye-related diseases which, if treated on time, can be cured or else could lead to permanent blindness as had happened to me. I want to spread awareness about this," said Takahashi today after interacting with visually impaired children at the Victoria Memorial School.

The Japanese runner, who won the T12 marathon gold medal at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, will be competing for the VI All-Stars team and raising funds to create awareness for Seeing is Believing , a Non-Governmental Organisation and official partner for the Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) - a four-legged relay marathon.

"I hope other organisations too come forward to support it. And many can be treated. This is my only desire," Takahashi told reporters with the help of a translator.

The marathoner said he had contemplated suicide when he lost his eyesight during his senior school days.

"When I first told my family that I could not see nobody believed me. Day by day it grew worse and many a time I even bought a knife up to my stomach to kill myself."

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