It’s commonplace to find that the journey of a para-athlete is mostly about overcoming physical challenges, but what if one is ridiculed and shamed for the appearance they were born with? That’s precisely what Deepthi Jeevanji — who took a bronze in the women’s 400 m T20 final on Tuesday to give India a third track and field medal at the Paris Paralympics — had to endure throughout her growing years. 

From being called Pichi (mental) and Kothi (monkey) for being born with an unusually small head, along with asymmetrical lips and nose — not to speak of her intellectual disability — the 21-year-old from Kalleda in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district has weathered it all. However, her rapid strides as a special talent in para-athletics, which saw her break the world record in her event at the World Championship in Kobe earlier this year, must have changed all that.

Was Always a Unique ‘Misfit’ ~

(Source: Google Images) 

That all must have changed, though, when, earlier this year, at the World Championship in Kobe, she smashed the world record in her event thanks to her lightning-fast steps. 

While not as impressive as her personal best of 55.07 seconds set in Kobe, Deepthi's bronze effort of 55.82 seconds was nevertheless good enough to guarantee a medal. She won a medal at what is expected to be the greatest Paralympics for India ever, surpassing the Tokyo milestone of 19 by the end of the day on Tuesday. Her parents, Jeevanji Yadhagiri and Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi, had to work very hard to develop their daughter as an athlete. 
 

“She was born during the solar eclipse and her head was very small at birth along with the lips and nose being a bit unusual. Every villager who saw her and some of our relatives would call Deepthi pichi (mental) and Kothi (monkey) and tell us to send her to an orphanage''  ~ Dhanakaxmi, Deepthi's mother

Her success as a world champion in a distant nation today confirms that she is a unique girl, sparking a fire of positivity inside many minds!