India's Deepa Malik wins silver at Paralympics

Deepa with a best throw of 4.61 metres from six attempts, finished behind Bahrain's Fatima Nedham's 4.76 metres effort

India's Deepa Malik who became the first Indian women to win a medal at a Paralympics with a silver in the shot put F-53 event in Rio on Monday, was in Dubai for the IPC Asia Pacific Para Athletics Championship earlier this year.
Deepa with a best throw of 4.61 metres from six attempts, finished behind Bahrain's Fatima Nedham's 4.76 metres effort. Bronze here went to Dimitra Korokida of Greece who heaved the iron to a distance 4.28 metres.
"I am motivated enough thanks to the great support given by my husband and my children who are always so supportive. The encouraging show at the Asia Pacific here in Dubai will help me train harder for the Rio Paralympics," she had told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the three-day meet.
"I give myself a realistic chance of 50-50 per cent for a medal in Brazil in a few months time," she said then.
India after the gold-bronze show in the men's high jump (Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati) on Saturday, now have three medals at the ongoing Rio Paralympics which ends on September 18. Like Thangavelu and Bhati, Deepa will receive a cash award which will be of a bigger amount - Rs 40 million, this time the cheque coming from the Haryana Sports Scheme for her historic show.
Deepa is a paraplegic, paralysed from waist down and a mother of two, and wife of an army officer. A spinal tumour made walking impossible for Deepa nearly 17 years ago.
Deepa went under the knive 31 times and during the procedures she had to go through the severest of pain when over 180 stitches had to be done on her waist and legs.