Agencies
Rio de Janeiro, Sept 12: India’s Deepa Malik created history by becoming the first-ever woman from the country to win a medal at the Paralympics when she bagged a silver in the shotput F-53 event here Monday. Deepa’s best throw of 4.61m from her six attempts was enough to put her on the podium.
India now have secured three medals from the Rio Paralympics. Deepa will receive a cash award of rupees four crore under the Haryana Sports Scheme for her feat.
Bahrain’s Fatema Nedham won the gold medal with a best throw of 4.76m, while Dimitra Korokida of Greece bagged the bronze medal with a throw of 4.28m.
Deepa is a paraplegic, paralysed from waist down and a mother of two and wife of an Army officer. Life took a twist when a spinal tumour made walking impossible for her 17 years ago.
The spinal tumour had to be operated and 31 surgeries were conducted on Deepa which was healed after 183 stitches between her waist and legs.
Besides shotput, Deepa has participated in at international meets in javelin, swimming and has also been a motivational speaker. She has also won medals in swimming at international competitions. She holds the Asian record in javelin, and also has World Championships silver medals in shot put and discus in 2011.
The 45-year-old who is the oldest member of the Indian contingent called it a ‘proud moment for her and her family’. “I want to use this medal to support women with disabilities in India. This journey has been wonderful for me and my entire family, I am proud to be the oldest athlete in the team and win a medal,” Deepa said after creating history. “This is the day I have been waiting for all my life. I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family.
Sports minister Vijay Goel congratulated Deepa for her feat. “The continuous success of the Indian para-athletes at Rio has made the nation proud. It has really been an inspirational moment for the entire country and I congratulate Deepa on her achievement,” said Goel.
Deepa will also get a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh as announced by the sports ministry earlier.
