It appeared that the silver medal was ready for India to seize, with only a few
meters left to be traversed. However, Turkey’s world record holder, Aysel Onder,
produced an incredible comeback to defeat Deepthi Jeevanji and win the silver
medal in the women's 400-meter T20 race on Tuesday at the Paralympics in Paris.
Yuliia Shuliar of Ukraine won the gold medal with a time of 55.16 seconds. For
silver, Onder took 55.23 seconds, and for bronze, Deepthi recorded 55.82
seconds.
Before these Paralympic Games, track-running events had not produced any
medals for India. The nation now has three medals, Deepthi's bronze and Preethi
Pal's double bronze in the T35 100 and 200-meter races. In para-athletics,
athletes with intellectual disabilities compete in the T20 division. Deepthi suffered
from a cognitive illness known as intellectual impairment from birth, which
affected her capacity to adapt and communicate.
Earlier in May 2024, when Deepthi won the gold in the women's 400-meter T20
division at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, she completely
rewrote the history books with a time of 55.07 seconds. She became the first
Indian to win a gold medal at a world championship in a track event. With her
timing, Deepthi surpassed Breanna Clark of the USA, who had set the previous
mark in 55.12 seconds at the 2023 World Championships. In the current
Paralympic heats, Aysel Onder of Turkey beat Deepthi's world record with a time
of 54.96 seconds.
Last year, Deepthi set an Asian record with a time of 56.69 seconds to win gold at
the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Deepthi was confronted with many
difficulties at an early age. However, the 21-year-old young Indian is a world
record holder and an inspiration for many.
When Deepthi was in Class 9 at the Rural Development Foundation (RDF) School
in Warangal, her physical education teacher Biyani Venkateshwaralu noticed her
athletic ability. Nagpuri Ramesh, the Indian junior team coach who had previously
worked with sprinter Dutee Chand, continued to teach her after that. He first
witnessed Deepthi compete in 2019 at a state event, which marked the start of
her career as a professional athlete.
After taking home the bronze in the 2019 Para Asian Youth Championships in
Hong Kong, Deepthi immediately made an impression on the global scene.
Deepthi's program was on the verge of being abandoned due to financial

difficulties, but Ramesh saw her promise and made sure she could go to
Hyderabad for training.
India’s legendary shuttler Pullela Gopichand offered her more help and suggested
that she be tested at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with
Intellectual Disability in Hyderabad. Deepthi received the international license
needed to compete as a para-athlete following the requisite testing. Through his
foundation, Gopichand supported Deepthi financially. She needed the
sponsorship to help her become a champion athlete.
Meanwhile, Pooja Jatyan, an Indian recurve archer, has advanced to the
quarterfinals of the Paralympic Games women's open archery category in Paris.
The 27-year-old, who won silver in the World Para Championship, triumphed 6-0
in straight sets over Yagmur Sengul of Turkey.
Jatyan, who earned a bye into the pre-quarterfinals after finishing in the top 9,
will take on the Tokyo Paralympics’ bronze medalist Wu Chunyan in the
quarterfinals. Chinese Chunyan's pre-quarterfinal victory over Mongolia's Oyun-
Erdene Buyanjargal guaranteed her a spot in the quarterfinals.
Jatyan easily won the opening set of her match against Sengul, collecting 26
points overall with three consecutive 9s to Sengul's 22 points. Jatyan now leads 2-
0 as a result. In the third set, Jatyan had significant opposition from Sengul, who
scored two 9s and an 8, but she kept cool and defeated her opponent by one
point to clinch victory.