Silver medallist at the Rio Paralympics, Deepa Malik, joined BJP on Monday. She joined the party’s Haryana unit, in the presence of state unit chief Subhash Barala and general secretary and in-charge Anil Jain. “We welcome her into the party. She is an inspiration for all of us. She has made the country proud,” Jain said, welcoming Deepa Malik to the party.
Deepa is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympic Games. The notable Indian sports star may be given a seat in Haryana for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections the sources said. The party is yet to announce all its candidates in the state.
Deepa Malik also took to Twitter and the occasion and said:
READ OUR INTERVIEW: Don’t Wait For The Change, Be The Change: Deepa Malik
First Indian woman to make a mark in the Paralympics
The 45-year-old Malik made headlines after she bagged the silver medal in the shot put F-53 event for India at Rio Paralympics in 2016. Malik is India’s oldest athlete to ever win a medal at the Paralympics. She is also the first female athlete to represent India at the Paralympics, since the country’s debut at the Games in 1968. The stellar performer also clinched the gold in the F53/54 Javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai last year.
“Winners don’t do things differently, they do different things and being a differently-abled person, everything I did was different,” the Paralympian said in an exclusive interview with SheThePeople.TV.
Malik, who is paralysed from the waist down, has risen above adversities numerous times. The Paralympian was honoured with the Arjuna award in 2012. She has also been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2017 for her achievements.
Deepa is the wife of an Army officer, and has two children. She was diagnosed with a spinal tumour, which made walking impossible for her. She has gone through 31 surgeries.
Recipient of medals in swimming at international competitions, other than shot put, she has also participated in the javelin throw, swimming and has been a motivational speaker too. Deepa also is the Asian record holder in javelin throw, and has World Championships silver medals in shot put and discus in 2011. Deepa refused to accept that being paraplegic could stand between her and the bigger dreams, she defied all odds and became an adventure sports freak.
During an earlier conversation with SheThePeople.TV the athlete told us, “As long as I was sad and under-confident within myself when I was bedridden, I used to write a lot of sullen poetry. Although the poetry was good, but it was sad. Then I realised that I need to change this and I started writing about dreaming and success. That is when the real transformation happened. You don’t have to wait for the change to happen. You have to become the change.”
READ: A Biker, Swimmer and now a Silver Medalist at Rio Paralympics: This is Deepa Malik’s story
Feature Image Credit: NDTV
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