Nagoya: India’s Preethi Pal clinched a silver medal in the Women’s 200m T35 event at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium during the ongoing Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday.
Preeti clocked a time of 29.53s to finish second behind China’s Xia Zhou, who won the gold medal with a time of 28.03s.
Preeti, who won two bronze medals in the Paris Paralympics, was, however, not very pleased with the silver as she wanted to bag the gold medal. “I don’t feel good. I thought I would get gold,” she said after winning her first Asian Para Games medal.
Preethi had a lead for most of the race, but the Chinese surpassed her in the final few moments to win the gold. Preethi said she had hoped to time 28 seconds, but her body was not feeling good today.
“I was leading the Chinese till 150m, but I got de-escalated in the end. My body isn’t well; I thought I would clock 28 seconds on the ground and that was the mark at which the gold medal was won. The last 30 meters did not go well. Maybe the gold medal is destined for the Paralympics; let’s hope for that,” she added.
Meanwhile, Preethi will also be participating in the 100m sprint. “Anyway, tomorrow is the 100m race. Let’s focus on that,” she said.
Preethi is a decorated Indian para athlete. She has won two bronze medals in the Paralympics. She has a silver and three bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships, along with four gold medals at the Indian Open tournaments. She has also won a gold in the New Delhi Grand Prix.
Preethi faced significant physical challenges when she was born. Her lower body was plastered six Days after birth. She started wearing callipers at the age of five for eight years. She has been a proven fighter and has overcome life-threatening conditions and emerged victorious.
Preeti’s perspective began to shift when she watched the Paralympic Games on social media. A significant change came when she met Paralympic athlete Fatima Khatoon, who introduced her to para athletics, and she now continues to win laurels in the biggest events.
(IANS)
