Rio Paralympics: Meet Deepa Malik, athlete extraordinaire-Deepa is the wife of a veteran cavalier Colonel Bikram Singh and daughter of a veteran Infantry Colonel BK Nagpal. She is the mother of two adult daughters- Devika and Ambika. She is currently being supported by the GoSports Foundation through the their Para Champions Programme

Rio Paralympics: Meet Deepa Malik, athlete extraordinaire TNN | Sep 5, 2016, 11.20 AM IST . Highlights •Deepa Malik is one of the country’s most decorated athletes •A spinal tumor left her paralyzed from the waist down •Deepa is a recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2012 for her achievements as a swimmer Deepa Malik. (Getty Images) Deepa Malik. (Getty Images) . NEW DELHI: Being confined to a wheelchair has clearly not been a deterrent for Deepa Malik, one of the country's most decorated athletes. A cursory glance at her achievements underscores that truism: the 45-year-old is an accomplished swimmer, adventure sports junkie, biker and entrepreneur and has had her name entered into the Limca Book of Record not once, but four times. . . Suffering a spinal tumor in 1999, which required three surgeries and 183 stitches between her shoulder blades and left her paralyzed from the waist down, did not stop Deepa from chasing and achieving her dreams. . . A recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2012 for her achievements as a swimmer, she has swum across the Yamuna River against the current, covered a distance of over 3,000kms from Chennai to Delhi on a customized motorbike and scaled nine high altitude motorable passes in Ladakh in nine days. In fact, Deepa was the first paraplegic athlete to attempt to cover such difficult terrain. . . Paralympian Deepa Malik receiving Arjuna Award from President Pranab Mukherjee. (TOI File Photo) . . She also has to her credit 54 gold medals at the national level and 13 at the international level across sports, including swimming and in the javelin throw and shot put. Apart from this, she even represented the Rajasthan women's cricket team. Top Comment One must admire her indomitable spirit. Hemanth Pai . . Born in Bhaiswal in Haryana, Deepa was a self-obsessed adrenalin junkie from a young age. Among her teenage passions was motorbiking, and in an interview she even admitted to being convinced to get married at the age of 20 "just for a bike". The bike, for the record, was a Kawasaki Bajaj 100cc. . . The first Indian woman to represent India at the Paralympics, Deepa enters the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro - starting September 7 - as a bonafide champion. She will contest in the shot put event. Deepa Malik (born 30 September 1970) is an Indian athlete born in a Hindu Jat family in Sonipat. She won a Silver medal at the Rio Paralympics in 2016 and became the first Indian woman to win a paralympic medal. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure sports. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has done an 8 day, 1700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18000 feet. It was - Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.[1][2] Deepa is the wife of a veteran cavalier Colonel Bikram Singh and daughter of a veteran Infantry Colonel BK Nagpal. She is the mother of two adult daughters- Devika and Ambika. She is currently being supported by the GoSports Foundation through the their Para Champions Programme.[3] She is a member of the working group in the formulation 12th five- year plan { 2012-2017 } on Sports and Physical Education as nominated by the Planning Commission HRD Division on behalf of the Sports Ministry. Contents [hide] 1 Achievements 2 International participation & medals won 3 Motor Sports 4 Awards and recognition 4.1 National and state awards 4.2 Other awards 5 Records And Rankings 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Achievements[edit] Deepa Malik becomes the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics. She gained a silver medal in the shotput. Deepa has no sensation below her chest. She has gained the Arjuna award in 2012 , at the age of 42 yrs. International participation & medals won[edit] IPC Athletics World Championship, Doha 2015 | Diploma (5th Position) – (Shotput) IPC Oceania Asian Championship, Dubai March 2016 | 1 Gold (Jav), 1 Silver (Shotput) Won Incheon Asian Para Games 2014 – Silver medal in women’s 53-54 Javelin with a new Asian Record and has now qualified to be at IPC World Athletics Championship Doha 2015 to be held in Oct 2015 IPC 2nd China Open Athletics Championship Beijing 10–17 April 2014- Shot put F53-55 Gold German open athletics championship Berlin 2013 – IPC Qualification event – Only women from india to earn qualification for IPC world athletics championship Lyon 2013 IPC World Athletics Championship , Lyon 2013 – Diploma Position First Malaysian Open Athletics Championship April 2012 – Two Gold Medals – (Javelin & Discus) – New Official Asian Record In Javelin F-53 Women – Felicitated by Milkha Singh ji and P.T.Usha ji. IWAS World Games Sharjah Dec-2011- Two Bronze Medals – Two New Asian Records IPC World Athletics Championship Christchurch Jan 2011 – Silver Medal IPC World Athletics Championship New Zealand 2011 – Only women para-athlete to qualify for the same *Commonwealth Games 2010 – Diploma Position – Shot Put Para-Asian Games China Dec 2010 – Bronze Medal – First Ever Medal Won By A Woman Athlete at Asian Games CP Sports Nottingham England Sep 2010 – Three Gold Medals – Shot-put, Discuss, Javelin IWAS World Games, India 2009- SHOTPUT- Bronze Medal World Open Swimming Championship- Berlin 2008 – 10th Position S-5 Swimming Backstroke IWAS World Games Taiwan- 2007 – Diploma Position – Javelin F53 Women FESPIC Games Kuala Lumpur 2006 – 2ND Position S-5 Swimming Backstroke Qualified B Level – Javelin Throw F-53 For Beijing Olympics 2008 – Felicitated By Mr Kapil Dev National and State level medals : 47 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze International medals- 13 women's shot put at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships Class Gold Silver Bronze F52/53 Estela Salas Mexico Deepa Malik India Martha Gustafson Canada Motor Sports[edit] Deepa Malik was the first person ever to receive a license for invalid (modified) rally vehicle[citation needed], a case she consistently pursued for 19 months in Maharashtra. She is also the first physically challenged individual in the country to receive an official rally license from the Federation Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) and become a navigator and driver in the toughest car rallies of the country- Raid-de-HIMALAYA 2009 and Desert Storm 2010. She had the honour of being the part of the grid and national anthem ceremony at the flag-off of Formula-1 race at Buddh international circuit, 2013[citation needed]. Her aim of joining motor sports is to spread awareness towards the fact that physically challenged individuals can obtain an official license and attain independence and self-reliance through driving. Deepa Malik has undertaken numerous rallies to promote this cause. Awards and recognition[edit] National and state awards[edit] President Role Model Award (2014) Arjuna Award (2012) Maharashtra Chhatrapati Award (sports) (2009-10) Haryana Karambhoomi Award (2008) Swawlamban Puruskar Maharashtra (2006) Other awards[edit] WCRC Leaders Asia Excellence Award 2014 Limca people of the year award 2014 iCONGO Karamveer Puruskar 2014 Amazing Indian Awards Times Now-2013 Cavinkare National Ability Mastery Award -2013 Karamaveer Chakra award 2013 Nominee for L'Oreal Femina Awards 2013 in “Women We Love Category” Batra Positive Health Hero Award 2012 AWWA Excellence Award For Sports 2012 Media Peace & Excellence Award For Sports 2012 Maharana Mewar Arawali Sports Award 2012 Misaal-e-Himmat Award (2012) International Women’s day appreciation Award 2011 – Cancer Patient Aid Association New Delhi. Shree Shakti Puruskar CARE- 2011 District Sports Award Ahmednagar-2010 Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar 2009 Naari Gaurav Puraskar 2009 Guru Gobind Shaurya Puraskar 2009 Rotary Women Of The Year Award 2007 For the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics ₹4 crore (US$590,000) from the Government of Haryana[4] ₹50 lakh (US$74,000) from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports[5] Records And Rankings[edit] 1. Holds An Official IPC Asian Record In Javelin F-53 Category – Felicitated by Milkha Singh and P.T.Usha. 2.Holds All Three National Records In Throws {Discuss, Javelin, Shot-put} In F-53 Category 3.Holds All Three National Records In S-1 Swimming Category {Back Stroke, Breast Stroke, Free Style } 4. World Ranking 2010-12 – 2nd Shot-put, 3rd -Discus, 3rd Javelin 5. Asian Ranking 2010-12 – 1st In All Three Throws 4 LIMCA World Records 1. longest pan-india drive done by a paraplegic women. Chennai-Delhi 3278 km – 2013 2. Driving Across Nine High Altitude Passes in Nine Days on Leh-Ladhakh Highest Motorable Roads. (First Woman in the world in her disability to attempt a journey like this – 2011) 3. Riding Special Bike -2009 4. Swimming in River Yamuna Against The Current For 1 km. Allahbad-2008