Deepa Malik (born 30 September 1970) is an Indian athlete. She started her career at the age of 30. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

and won a silver medal at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. 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 undertaken an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to . It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

and

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. 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. She is also the 'Clean India' brand ambassador for NMDC and expert consultant for Disability Inclusive Accessible Infrastructure for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs 'Smart Cities' project. In 2020, she was elected as President of the Paralympic Committee of India.

Achievements

Deepa Malik is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics. She won the silver medal in the shot put in 2016

. She was previously honored with the

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, on ...

in 2012, at the age of 42 years. She has also been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2017. She created a New Asian Record in Asian Para Games 2018 and is the only Indian woman to win medals in 3 consecutive Asian Para Games (2010, 2014, 2018). She has won 58 national and 23 international medals across all disciplines to date.

International participation and medals

*Asian Para Games 2018, Jakarta 2018 , 2 Bronze Medals(3rd Position) - 1 Bronze F53/F54 Category (Javelin Throw), 1 Bronze F51/52/53 Category (Discus Throw) *Paralympic Games 2016, Rio 2016 , Silver Medal (2nd Position) - First Ever Indian Woman to win a Paralympic Medal (shot put) *IPC Athletics World Championship, Doha, Qatar 2015 , Diploma (5th Position) – (shot put) *IPC Oceania Asian Championship, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 2016 , 1 Gold (javelin), 1 Silver (shot put) *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– Shotput 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 and 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, Discus, Javelin *IWAS World Games, India 2009– shot put- 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: 51 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze *International medals- 23

Motor sports

Deepa Malik was the first person ever to receive a license for an invalid (modified) rally vehicle, 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. Malik participated in the grid and national anthem ceremony at the start of the 2013 Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit.. Her aim of joining motorsports 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

National awards

*President Role Model Award (2014) *Arjuna Award (2012) *Maharashtra Chhatrapati Award (sports) (2009–10) *Haryana Karambhoomi Award (2008) *Swawlamban Puruskar Maharashtra (2006) *

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

Award (2017) *First Ladies Award - Ministry of Women & Child Development. *

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Gove ...

Award (2019)

Other awards

*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 * from the

Government of Haryana The Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially le ...

* from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

Records and rankings

* Holds An Official IPC Asian Record In Javelin F-53 Category – Felicitated by Milkha Singh and P.T.Usha. * Holds All Three National Records In Throws In F-53 Category * Holds All Three National Records In S-1 Swimming Category * World Ranking 2010–12 – 2nd Shot-put, 3rd -Discus, 3rd Javelin * Asian Ranking 2010–12 – 1st In All Three Throws LIMCA World Records * Longest Pan-India drive done by a paraplegic women. Chennai-Delhi 3278 km – 2013 * Driving Across Nine High Altitude Passes in Nine Days on Leh-Ladakh Highest Motorable Roads. (First Woman in the world in her disability to attempt a journey like this – 2011) * Riding Special Bike −2009 * Swimming in River Yamuna Against The Current For 1 km. Allahabad-2008

Public appearances

* 11 October 2019, On the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child, Deepa appeared on the popular Indian TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Political career

Deepa Malik joined the BJP in shortly before the 2019 general election.

References

External links

*
How Deepa Malik Got Her Wheels Back
by Snigdha Hasan {{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Deepa 1970 births Living people Recipients of the Arjuna Award Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for India Indian female javelin throwers 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Indian female shot putters Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games People from Sonipat district Sportswomen from Haryana Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Athletes from Haryana Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic athletes of India Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Commonwealth Games competitors for India FESPIC Games competitors Wheelchair shot putters Wheelchair javelin throwers Paralympic shot putters Paralympic javelin throwers