Indian para-athlete Deepthi Jeevanji is a force to reckon with in athletics. She hit the spotlight through her victory in the 400-meter T20 race, on September 27 of 2003. Her determination and skill helped her secure the bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympics with a world record time of 55.06 seconds in the Worlds Championships, held in the United StatescreateTime:7·3 min read Hailing from a small village of Telangana to doing amazing stuff Globally! Truly an inspiration.
Early Life
She was from Kalleda village in Warangal district, Telangana. Her parents; Jeevanji Yadhagiri and Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi own ¼ acre of small agricultural lands where they work as daily wage laborers in other farms. Despite the tough circumstances, Deepthi’s potential for sports was clear at an early stage. Her talent was spotted by her school PET teacher in Warangal when she was in 9th class and she took to athletics.
She was later introduced under the wings of Indian Junior coach Ramesh and he developed her skills. Word of her ability eventually reached Pullela Gopichand, the famous badminton coach who lent further support and urged Deepthi to be checked at a National Institute for Visually Impaired Persons (national institute for empowering persons with mental retardation)-run center in Hyderabad. At KU, she qualified under the category of mentally impaired as a para-athlete.
Career
Her journey started at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, where she was chosen to represent India for her athleticism by Deepthi Jeevanji. She also clinched her pet field — 400m T20 affair on October 24, in the Asian Para record and Games almanac time of 56.69 seconds. Thailand’s Orawan Kaising won silver, with Japan’s Niina Kanno claiming bronze. It was a win that proved how resolute Deepthi truly is.
During the same year in 2024, she was fortunate enough to get selected for her first ever World Paralympics Championships held in Kobe (Japan) where she competed at an international platform participating in two events of 100 meters and 200 meters respectively belonging from category F. She had also bettered the 400 meters qualifying mark by setting a new Asian record of 56.18 seconds earlier this year”> She qualified in the Paris 2024 Paralympics by finishing second place in the 100 meters (Category F), during the Indian U20 Federation Cup at Chhotu Bhai Purani Sports Complex, Nadiad.
Her biggest moment came at the 2024 Paralympic Games where she won a bronze medal in 400 meters T20. Later that year, she won and set the world record of 55.06 in the World Championships held at Dubai (the previous WR was 55.12 by USA’s Breanna Clark). Her commitment to the sport and consecutive performances have earned her a name in para-athletics.
Conclusion
The Story of Deepthi Jeevanji Going from A Remote Telangana Village to a World Arena in Athletics is an Example of Will Power and Dedication Though these achievements only added to her family and community’s new sense of pride, it caused basketball-playing kids from all over Aotearoa New Zealand that there was a pathway. And among all these, Deepthi is “on a mission to make her life joyful and fulfilled”, which she seems certainly destined for.
This was beautiful Admin. Thank you for your reflections.