Nagoya: India’s Preethi Pal clinched a silver medal in the Women’s 100m T35 event at the Asian Para Games here on Wednesday.
Preethi clinched the silver, clocking an impressive time of 29.53 seconds. This is her second medal at the ongoing continental event, having bagged the silver in the 200m T35 event on Tuesday.
Preethi is a decorated Indian para athlete. She has won two bronze medals in the Paralympics. She has one 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.
Born to a farmer’s family in rural UP, Preethi faced significant physical challenges from the day she was born, as her lower body had to be plastered for six days after birth. Weak legs and an irregular leg posture mean she was prone to various diseases.
Preethi underwent various traditional treatments to strengthen her legs but had to start wearing callipers at the age of five and wore them for eight years. Despite many doubting her survival, she proved to be a fighter, overcoming life-threatening conditions to demonstrate incredible strength and resilience.
She got interested in para-sports at the age of 17 after watching clips of the Paralympic Games on social media. Her life changed a few years after starting to practise athletics when she met her mentor, Paralympian Fathima Khatoon.
Encouraged by Fathima, Preeti took part in district, state, and national competitions and made her international appearance at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in 2023.
Preethi bagged her first international medal in the World Para Athletics Championship, where she claimed bronze medals in both the 100m and 200m events in 2024.
She scripted history after clinching bronze in the women’s 200m T35 in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris as she became the first Indian woman athlete to win two medals in track & field in the Paralympics or Olympics. She also bagged a bronze in women’s 200m T35.
–IANS–
