Bhubaneswar: Promising cyclist from Odisha, Kalpana Jena, has bagged a Silver medal in the 2 km Time Trial event at the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023 being held in Berlin, Germany.
Kalpana clocked 5:42.42, while Shivani from India clocked 5:22.41 to win the Gold, and Ana Zumbado of Costa Rica bagged the Bronze with a time of 5:46.63.
Kalpana, a native of Regedapada village in Athagarh block belongs to the economically weaker section of the society.
Her father, Gadadhar Jena, and mother, Gitanjali Jena, work as agricultural farm labourers.
Kalpana has received sports training in various disciplines like badminton, athletics, and floorball at BVMMMRBT in Athagarh since early 2019.
Her cycling skills were honed under Satbir Singh Sahota, a multiple-time National Cycling Champion of India from Jharkhand.
She practiced under the District Coach, Bibekananda Mohanty, before being selected for the World Games.
Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister and MLA of Athagarh, presented her with a racing cycle for practice before embarking on her journey, which has borne fruit.
She also met and received good wishes from the legendary nine-time National Cycling Champion and Arjuna Awardee, Minati Mohapatra, during the send-off ceremony held at KIIT on the 6th of this month.
Congratulatory messages have poured in for Kalpana from all parts of the state. Kasturi Mohapatra, President of SOB-Odisha, Pradipta Rath, Vice President of BRM-ASHA, Arpita Mohapatra, State Program Coordinator of SOB-Odisha, Md. Jafar Iqbal, International Cricketer with Visual Impairment, Gaganendu Dash, Director General of Sports at KIIT University, and Prakash Rath, Area Director of SOB-Odisha, have sent congratulatory messages to Kalpana through WhatsApp.
