Deepthi Jeevanji defends Asian Para Games 400m T20 gold in 56.36s

Asian Para Games: Deepthi Jeevanji defends women's 400m T20 gold with Games record

Nagoya, Oct 20

Deepthi successfully defended her gold medal, improving her timing from 56.59 seconds in 2022 to 56.36 seconds in 2026 - an improvement of 0.23 seconds.

The 23-year-old from Telangana is a two-time Para World Championships medallist, having won the gold in 2024. She is also a Paralympic bronze winner in the same event.

Deepthi has made a remarkable impact on the world of para athletics. Despite facing challenges due to her intellectual impairment. At the age of 15, Deepthi was first spotted by N Ramesh, a coach from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), during a state-level athletics meet.

Recognising her potential, Ramesh took her under his wing and began training her. Her journey in para athletics began with her participation in the Asian Youth Championships held in Hong Kong in 2019, where she won a bronze medal. Despite her intellectual impairment, which makes it difficult for her to express her feelings like other girls of her age, Jeevanji remained determined to excel in her sport.

Deppthi continued to train diligently and participated in various events organised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) between 2019 and 2022. Her hard work paid off when she won a gold medal in both the 100m and 200m events at the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 in Guwahati.

Deepthi's success continued at the National Junior and Youth Championships, where she won multiple medals. Her achievements earned her the status of a Khelo India Athlete.

Her most significant achievement came at the Asian Para Games 2023, where she created history by breaking the Games Record and Asian Record followed by a World Record of 55.07s registered at World Championship 2024.

Her exceptional perfomance earned her a gold medal, cementing her place as a rising star in the world of para athletics.

— IANS