India’s campaign at the World Para Athletics Championships got off to a dream start in New Delhi, capped by a silver medal for sprinter Deepthi Jeevanji in the women’s 400m T20 final on Friday.
The 22-year-old
from Telangana produced a blistering run of 55.16s, finishing behind Turkey’s Aysel Onder, who lowered her own world record with a sensational 54.51s.
Deepthi’s performance added to India’s growing medal tally, following Shailesh Kumar’s record-breaking gold and Varun Singh Bhati’s bronze in the men’s high jump T63 earlier in the day.
Historic Rise
Deepthi has been one of India’s standout para-athletes over the past two seasons.
At Paris 2024, she made history as the first intellectually impaired Indian athlete to win a Paralympic medal, clinching bronze in the women’s 400m T20 final. She clocked 55.82s there, finishing behind Ukraine’s Yulia Shuliar and Turkey’s Onder.
The 2023 Asian Para Games gold medallist, Deepthi had herself set a world record of 55.07s at the last World Championships — a mark Onder bettered in New Delhi today.
What is the T20 Class?
The T20 category is reserved for athletes with intellectual impairments. Deepthi, India’s first-ever Paralympian in this classification, competes despite facing cognitive challenges that affect communication and understanding skills.
(more to follow…)
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