I dared to dream and worked hard: Deepa Malik

September 13, 2016

Rio De Janeiro, Sep 13: The first Indian woman to clinch a Paralympic medal, a thrilled Deepa Malik says her F-53 shot put silver is a result of being daring enough to dream.

deepa

Deepa's best throw of 4.61m from her six attempts was enough to clinch the silver medal.

"I dared to dream and I have determination to work hard and the passion and perseverance to follow that dream. Women often lose that and I have ensured that my family is not neglected, my children are doing well too," Deepa said.

A paraplegic, paralysed from waist down, Deepa is married to an Armyman and is a mother of two. The 45-year-old was consigned to the wheelchair 17 years ago after being operated for a spinal tumour.

She underwent 31 surgeries, which was healed after 183 stitches between her waist and legs.

"I am very happy to win this medal and I am so glad that I could do this for my country. I really want to thank my coaches and my trainers, Sports Authority of India, and the Sports Ministry for funding my training so beautifully.

"I also want to thank my husband for being my skill trainer and my daughters for being my strength and motivation. I am so eager to come back to India," she said.

Deepa had won national and international medals in swimming, before switching to athletics in 2009.

"I was the first biker, first swimmer, first rallyist (rally driver) and I am going to be the first Paralympian medallist. This is huge. I give it to my daughters. I give it to my husband, my trainer, my country. I am so excited," she said.

Deepa might even have taken the gold, but for a mighty third throw of 4.76m from Bahrain's Fatema Nedham, which was a regional record. Dimitra Korokida claimed the bronze for Greece with an effort of 4.28m.

In 2009 Deepa became the first person with paraplegia to ride in one of the world's highest and most difficult motor rallies in the Himalayas.

Deepa's success comes after two Indian men - high jumpers Mariyappan Thangavelu and Bhati Varun Singh - won gold and bronze respectively at the Olympic Stadium on Friday.

Deepa hoped that her achievements would inspire others to beat adversity.

"This is very significant. I hope my journey and the medal can serve as an inspiration for differently-abled individuals to break out from their social boundaries and pursue their dreams," she said.

"I remember when I first had the tumour all those years back, people thought I would be restricted to my house throughout my life with servants looking after my daily needs," she added.

Deepa said she always wanted to be independent despite her disability.

"...I wanted to break out from that mould and took to swimming, motorsports and eventually javelin and shot put. My goal was to become independent despite my disability and today due to sport and the support of my family, I am very much an independent individual," she said.

Although Deepa's Paralympic performance will always be the pinnacle of her sporting career, she's no stranger to winning awards and accolades for her country.

In 2012 she was the oldest recipient to be honoured with the Arjuna Award at the age of 42. And she clinched a Para Asian Games medal in 2014 in Incheon.

In the run up to the games at Rio, she also won a gold medal in Javelin Throw at the IPC Oceania Asian Championships in Doha and a silver medal in Shot Put at the same event.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.