Villagers used to taunt him by calling him a monkey and a mad person, but now he created history by winning a medal in the Paralympics

The sixth day of the Paris Paralympics was historic for India. On September 3, Indian athletes broke the Tokyo record by winning a total of 5 medals. Now India has a total of 20 medals, which is the best performance so far in the Paralympic Games. Deepti Jeevanji of Telangana also made an important contribution to this historic feat of India. She won the bronze medal in the 400-meter T20 category of women's race. She has become the first Indian female player to do so. 20-year-old Deepti completed the race in 55.82 seconds. She missed the first place by just 0.66 seconds.

Deepthi Jeevanji is a resident of Warangal district of Telangana. She has won a medal in the T20 category of the Paralympics. This category is reserved for mentally challenged players. It was very difficult for Deepthi to reach this historic milestone. She had to fight not only her mental illness but also society to prove her ability.

In a report by Indian Express, her mother Dhanalakshmi Jeevanji and father Yadhagiri Jeevanji revealed that Deepthi was born during a solar eclipse. She was born mentally weak. Due to this, she had difficulty in talking or doing any normal work.

Deepti's parents said that at the time of birth, her head was very small. Apart from this, her lips and nose were also slightly different from normal children. Due to this, the villagers and many relatives used to call Deepti mad. Not only this, she was also teased by calling her a monkey.

Yadhagiri Jeevanji revealed that many people even advised him to leave his daughter in an orphanage. However, he did not pay attention to anything. Now he feels proud to see his daughter winning medals. Also, seeing her becoming a champion, he feels that Deepthi is a special gift from God.

Childhood was full of struggle

Deepti's mother Dhanalakshmi Jeevanji said that after her grandfather's death, the agricultural land had to be sold. This brought disaster to the family. The whole family used to crave for food. Deepti's father could barely earn 100 to 150 rupees, which was not enough to meet the household expenses. In such a situation, she also had to work to support her husband and fulfill the needs of both daughters Deepti and Amulya.

Dhanalakshmi Jeevanji also revealed that Deepti was quiet since childhood and spoke very little. The village children would tease her due to her illness, then she would come home and cry a lot. In such a situation, she would make sweet rice or sometimes chicken and feed it to Deepti to make her happy.

How did you decide the journey to Paralympics?

Deepti has been interested in athletics since childhood. At the age of 15, Sports Authority of India coach N Ramesh noticed her and immediately recognized the talent of the Indian athlete. After this, he started training her under his supervision. After a lot of hard work, Deepti achieved her first major success by winning the gold medal in the 2022 Asian Para Games. During this time she also broke the Asian record. After this, she became the champion in the World Para Athletics held in Japan in 2024, where she also made a world record. Now she has created history by winning the bronze medal in the Paris Paralympics.