In the women’s 400-meter T20 final of the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024, Deepthi Jeevanji earned bronze on Tuesday, earning her the 16th medal for India.
The world has learned from the Paris Paralympics 2024 that everything is possible if one has the resolve to do it. Notwithstanding obstacles, the athletes have achieved success. One of those amazing athletes whose road was filled with obstacles but who never gave up is Deepthi Jeevanji from India. In the women’s 400m T20 final of the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024, Deepthi Jeevanji earned bronze on Tuesday, earning her the 16th medal for India. In 55.82 seconds, the para-athlete completed the race.
Prior to this, at the World Athletics Para Championship in Kobe, Japan, Deepthi Jeevanji had captured the first gold medal for India. Her hometown is Kalleda Village in the Andhra Pradesh district of Warangal.
Then, her parents, Jeevanji Yadhagiri and Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi, recalled the taunts their daughter had to endure as a child. The Indian Express said that Deepthi was born with an intellectual handicap, a cognitive disorder that impairs both adaptive abilities and communication.Her head was very little at birth, and her lips and nose were a little odd. She was born during the solar eclipse. We were told to send Deepthi to an orphanage by every villager who saw her and some of our relatives, who called her pichi (mental) and kothi (monkey). Deepthi’s mother, Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi, told The news reports in May that her daughter is truly unique, as seen by her recent success as a world champion in a distant nation.
“We had to sell the farm to make ends meet after my husband’s father passed away. At times, I had to work to support our family, which included Deepthi’s younger sister Amulya, as my husband’s daily income was only Rs 100 or Rs 150.
Deepthi was a quiet child who rarely spoke. She would, however, cry when she got home after being teased by the local children. She was thrilled when I would cook her sweet rice or, perhaps, chicken.”
Yadhagiri, Jeevanji’s father, was moved by her daughter’s remarkable achievement.
“I could not afford to miss work, even though it’s an important day for all of us. That is my bread and butter. I would instruct the driver, Elfer, to call other friends and their families to celebrate Deepthi’s medal, and I would think about it all day long. She has always brought us happiness, thus this medal will also be very meaningful to us.
