Join Neelam's Paralympic Dream: Next stop, WSPS World Cup in Lima, Peru 2021!

Neelam is 27 years old and was born with a condition called Lipomyelomeningocele, also known as a form of Spina Bifida. Her disability was never seen as a curse, but more of a learning opportunity to show the world what she's made of.

Hi! My name is Neelam O'Neill and I have a dream to be the first female in over 30 years to represent NZ at the Paralympic Games in shooting para sport! My passion is 10-metre indoor air-rifle and air-pistol and I compete in events: R3 SH1 air-rifle mixed prone, P2 SH1 air-pistol women and occasionally in R2 SH1 air-rifle women standing. I am currently the only female who competes internationally for New Zealand in these events and it's all done from my manual wheelchair. I am currently working towards qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games and with your support, I know I can get there!

With your previous love and support, I successfully competed at the World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Cup in Al Ain, UAE in February and the WSPS Championships in Australia in October 2019. Both competitions have been integral to my journey towards getting to the Paralympics. Unfortunately, I was not able to secure a quota slot for NZ at the Championships.

However, I have been blessed with another opportunity to try again at the 2021 WSPS World Cup in Lima, Peru. This will be my final chance to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and this time I know I will be ready. It's an expensive and long road ahead, but with your help, you will be giving me a chance to follow my dreams to make my country proud!

To give you an insight to my shooting world, I have been shooting air-rifle for 7 years and air-pistol for almost 2 years. I am coached by 4 time NZ Paralympian legend Michael Johnson and 2 time NZ Commonwealth Games representative Ricky Zhao. I have represented NZ 6 times overseas and have won numerous national placings over the past 6 years. I train 4-5 times a week at the best training facility in New Zealand (Parafed Auckland Shooting Club). It is the only indoor air club in NZ with electronic targets.

Achievements and Recognitions:

2019 - Finalist for ‘Athlete of the year’ category for the Parafed Auckland Annual Awards

2018 - Finalist for 'Emerging Athlete' category for the Attitude Awards

2017-2019 - Recipient of the Parafed Auckland scholarship

2016- 2018 - Invited to join the national Pathway to Podium program. The program prepares athletes into potential high performance.

2014 - A finalist for 'Courage in Sport' category for the Attitude Awards

I have a great support team behind me and a bright future ahead. I am not a high performance athlete as of yet, so all competitions for me are self funded. These generous funds will assist me to compete at the 2021 WSPS World Cup in Lima, Peru. Your contributions will be greatly appreciated and you will be a crucial part to making my dream come true. Special thank you to everyone who has been following my journey through the years. I would not be here if it wasn’t for your continuous love and support!