Deepa Malik
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2016: silver medal in shot put
Deepa Malik was already a champion even before the start of the Paralympic Games. The silver medal at the Paralympics just made it official. A former cricketer, holder of the Asian record in javelin throw, World Championships silver medals in shot put and discus, her various medals in swimming at international competitions, the list just seems to go on and on for the 46-year-old paraplegic, who is paralysed from the waist down.
She won a silver medal in the shot put F-53 event (4.61m throw) to become India's first woman and oldest athlete to ever win a medal at the Paralympics. The journey has been anything but easy for Deepa. A spinal tumour confined her to a wheelchair 17 years ago. The three surgeries that followed and the 183 stitches between the waist and legs made walking impossible.
She has no torso balance and only half her lungs inflate.
“It was pretty depressing in the beginning but the love and support of my family made the process easy for me. The acceptance of your disability by your near and dear ones can make a lot of contribution to one's confidence,“ she told the Disability News and Information Service. Her adventurous spirit came to the fore in 2012 when she became the first paraplegic woman to reach world's highest motorable road in Khardung La, driving in her customised car. “Life is not over...disability is only a state of mind,“ says Deepa.
