A sporting life

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Deepa Malik was honoured with the Arjuna Award by the President

Deepa Malik, 42, the Asian champion in discus and javelin, an Arjuna awardee and a mother of two, would have been the perfect Paralympic ambassador from India and the proof that disability is not a curse. But Deepa could not compete in London Paralympics because she didn’t get enough opportunity to even qualify for the event.

“On one hand, I am happy that President Pranab Mukherjee felicitated me with the prestigeous, Arjuna Award, but on the other, I am sad that I did not qualify for the London Paralympics. It was my dream to take part in Paralympics. I don’t know whose fault is it,” says Deepa.
Sharing her struggle as a sportswoman, Deepa adds that tough times could never dampen her passion and love for sports. She had to close her seven-year-old restaurant business in order to concentrate on the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
In 2009, she took part in the Himalayan Car Rally 2009, considered one of the toughest car rallies in the world. She appeared twice as a guest in MTV Roadies. “I took my disability as nothing more than a medical condition. I wanted to show the world that specially-abled people have the same courage as others. I ran a catering and restaurant business for seven years but had to close it down after I decided to train for the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2010. I have given everything that is required to be a successful sportsperson. But I have yet to take part in Olympics. Hope this dream will come true soon,” says Deepa.
A fitness freak, foodie and talkative by nature, Deepa is among the few women in India who have reached such heights. “Sports is a passion for me. Although I couldn’t go to London, I will keep practicing so that I keep my fitness at the right level. I will stay in Delhi and keep doing my regular exercises,” says Deepa.
Interestingly, Deepa stars thrice in the Limca book of records. Her records include swimming against the current for 1 km in the Yamuna river and being the first woman (with her level of disability) to ride a motorbike across nine high altitude passes in the difficult terrain of Leh to Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir in nine days.