From being mocked by fellow villagers to winning medal on Paralympic debut: Deepthi Jeevanji’s trailblazing journey

Deepthi Jeevanji won India’s 16th medal and added to the medal rush that helped take the country’s tally past its Tokyo 2020 record on Tuesday. Deetpthi ran an incredible 55.82 second to win bronze in the women’s 400m T20 classification final.

Born on September 27, 2003 in Kalleda village in the Warangal district, Telangana, Deepthi had taken an interest in athletics from a young age. However, she and her parents, who are daily-wage workers, were taunted by fellow villagers with her mental impairment. “She was born during the solar eclipse and her head was very small at birth along with the lips and nose being a bit unusual. Every villager who saw her and some of our relatives would call Deepthi pichi (mental) and kothi (monkey) and tell us to send her to an orphanage. Today, seeing her become the world champion in a far-off country proves that she is indeed a special girl,” Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi, Deepthi’s mother, told The Indian Express in May.

“When my husband’s father died, we had to sell the farm to make ends meet. My husband would earn ₹100 or ₹150 a day so there were days when I had to work to support our family, including Deepthi’s younger sister Amulya. Deepthi was always a calm child and spoke very little. But when the village kids would tease her, she would come home and cry,” she further said.

The best in Asia and breaking the world record

At the age of 15, Deepthi was first spotted by N Ramesh, an Athletics Federation of India coach under the payroll of the Sports Authority of India. Her journey in international para-athletics began at the Asian Youth Championships in Hong Kong in 2019, where she won bronze. Deepthy then shot to the limelight last year when she won the 400m T20 classification gold at the Asian Para Games. She broke the games and Asian record to clinch the title.

She then won gold at the 2024 World Championships by running a world record time of 55.06s. On Tuesday, Deepthi clocked 55.82 seconds to finish behind Yuliia Shuliar (55.16 seconds) of Ukraine and world record holder Aysel Onder (55.23) of Turkey.