Paris 2024 Paralympics – Athletics – Women’s 400m – T20 Round 1 – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – September 2, 2024 Deepthi Jeevanji of India in action. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes)
Deepthi Jeevanji bronze medal: On Tuesday, Deepthi Jeevanji clinched a bronze for India in the Paris 2024 Paralympics in the women’s 400m T20 classification final. It was India’s 16th medal at the ongoing Summer Games.
The 21-year-old clocked a sensation 55.82 seconds in the final, finishing behind her counterparts from Ukraine and Turkey.
Deepthi’s journey
Deepthi hails from Telangana. She was born in the Kalleda village in the Warangal district. Having taken an interest in athletics from a young age, she overcame her intellectual impairment to shine on the international stage.
At the age of 15, while participating at the state-level athletics meet, Deepthi was spotted by Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach N Ramesh, who took her under his wing.
Her journey in para-athletics began at the Asian Youth Championships in Hong Kong in 2019, coincidentally with a bronze medal win. At the Khelo India Youth Games a year later, Deepthi bagged a gold medal in the 100m and the 200m category.
But it was at the Asian Para Games last year that Deepthi made her biggest mark in para-athletics, breaking the Games and the Asian Record by winning gold in the 400m T20 classification final with a world record of 55.07 seconds.
Deepthi’s achievements
- Asian Para Games (2022) – Gold medal (Games Record, Asian Record)
- World Championship (2024) – Gold Medal (World Record)
