Against all odds: Deepa Malik’s journey to achieving resilience and courage

Deepa Malik’s name has pride and courage written all over it. Even after starting her career at the ripe age of 30, she has still managed to win the hearts of the whole nation by being the first Indian woman to win a medal in the Paralympic Games.

 Her story is nothing short of courage, determination, and resilience as she defies all the barriers and gives a new meaning to ‘sports.’ In this blog, let us dive into Deepa Malik’s journey from paralysis to being a Paralympian, with nothing but just faith in mind and passion at heart.

Early life

Born and brought up in Sonipat district, Haryana, she was raised by an army family who primarily taught her the importance of discipline and as time moved ahead, she became used to difficulties that most of us would not have imagined.

At the mere age of five, Deepa was diagnosed with a spinal tumour, but this did not stop her from being active in almost all games in her school, as well as becoming a top Kendriya Vidyalaya scholar in Calcutta. While completing her English literature degree at Sophia College, she was addicted to bike riding, which became a common attraction among her now husband, Bikram Singh Malik, who was also a bike aficionado. Bikram is an army officer, and they share two daughters, Devika, and Ambika.

After undergoing three years of surgery after her first diagnosis, it was successful with additional aggressive physiotherapy. This had her relaxed for a time, but again, in 1999, she was diagnosed while her husband was fighting the Kargil war, and secondly, her daughter was unwell. This time, her three successful surgeries led her to be permanently cured, but it left her paralyzed from the waist down.

An Unordinaari woman

Victory is beyond fear

If you think these issues stopped her, you are utterly mistaken as these issues were as trivial as compared to her determination and passion for sports. While her husband was battling for his life at the borders, Deepa was battling with her mind and body to thrive.

She was told she could not walk again, but her mom raised no quitter! At 36, she adamantly decided she would be a swimmer, biker, adventurer, and good athlete.

Kickstarting her new career

After her healthy recovery, she gathered courage and pushed herself to participate in various events like shot put, discus throw, javelin, etc. Although she was confident enough to overcome these hurdles, only she knew what she felt internally, and she also had her family’s support through it all.

She invested most of her time in motorsports. To strengthen her shoulders and arms, she took up swimming, and soon afterward, in 2008, she swam across the river Yamuna. With significant interest in motorsports, she joined the Himalayan Motorsports Association, completing and a whole week’s almost 1720 km bike ride to 18,000 feet in negative temperatures.

Achievements to remember by

While most athletes lean towards retirement, nearing their 40s, Deepa is not one of them. She healthily competed in several national and international events and made India proud by securing accolades, especially in the first positions.

Swimming across the limits

This glorious woman makes the best of the best bite into dust with her achievements as she has won 23 international medals and 68 national and state level medals to her name, not just in one game but many. While swimming was a hobby, she bravely managed to come 10th at the World Championship in Berlin. However, the lack of heated swimming pools put her at risk during winters, which made her retire but with a bang.

Javelin throw

She chose javelin throw to take up as a new sport, for which she won one gold medal in the IPC Oceania Asian Championship, Dubai, and a silver medal in women’s 53–54 Javelin with a new Asian Record at the Incheon Asian Para Games 2014.

She had earlier been shortlisted for India’s delegation at the 2012 London Paralympics, but since India received only 10 spots, they sent an all-male contingent, therefore missing her chance. However, at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, India sent 19 athletes.

Shotput

Along with javelin, she participated in shot put events, such as the 200 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, where she won a bronze medal. Mulle records and medals at international competitions were won. Deepa made a name in history at 46 by becoming India’s only woman silver medallist in the shot put F53 category after winning at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Motorsport

The whole motive behind Deepa following her longtime passion after being disabled was to prove that physically disabled people can also obtain a license and be independent enough to make their own decisions. Her first step was in 2011 when she became the first paraplegic woman to drive to Khardunga La pass, the highest motorable pass in the world. Later, she completed the longest drive in India (3,278 km from Chennai to Delhi) in 2013. Meanwhile, she even rode a unique bike for 58 km in 2009.

If you think it ends here, catch your breath, as there is more. Before being advised to discontinue by her doctors, she left after bagging the Arjuna Award in 2012 for her performance in swimming, as well as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Padma Shri in 2019, leaving a tough competition to follow her legacy. Along with these awards, she won many related to media and feminism as well.

Impactful accolades

Beyond being the best example of a trailblazer for para-athletes, she also founded the Wheeling Happiness Foundation, a cause to enhance the emotional health of people with challenges and empower women to live a more self-reliant life through sports, mobility aids and disability advocacy, making the Foundation positively impact more than about 10,000 lives.

Her contributions to better sports policies for the physically challenged include her role as a member of the Working Group for the Formulation of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012 – 2017) and Brand Ambassador of the Election Commission of India, in a way helping them to encourage all citizens to vote specifically for the youth, women and people with disabilities. Secondly, after spending almost 2 decades as an athlete, she was elected President of the Paralympic Committee of India in February 2020, where she is more than ready to change multiple lives.

Side hustles

Motivational Speaker

She stands by the quote “the more, the merrier,” as she like how she chose to change ‘Ability beyond disability,’ she wants the same for people like her to thrive rather than shadow themselves and their dreams. Her perfectly articulated content engages the audience and keeps them wanting more by the end of her talk. Even the laziest later aspire to be like her.

Cooking good

Alongside acing sports, she persuaded other sports as well, like opening a restaurant in Ahmednagar, where she employed underprivileged youths and ensured they continued their education. The restaurant ran well until it closed in 2010.

Stepping into Politics

Using her fame, she decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019, which raised questions rather than applause, which she later addressed in an exclusive interview. She nonetheless hopes her journey and her achievements serve as an inspiration for differently abled individuals to strive past their hurdles and pursue their dreams.

Key takeaway

This remarkable journey of Deepa proves why age is just a number, and if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. Breaking old records and creating new ones is Deepa’s old habit; through it all, she has paved a path for many more people to work hard and achieve what they want without any worries. She may use a wheelchair for the foreseeable future, but her heart takes her to places where our legs do not. This remarkable athlete has reached heights which we can only dream of touching.