‘Now there are job incentives for people in the para-sport ecosystem’: Deepa Malik
In an exclusive conversation, 2016 Rio Paralympics silver medallist and former Paralympic Committee of India president Deepa Malik talks about how Indian para-athletes are not resting on past laurels but aiming for bigger prizes after the Paris Games and more.
 "Exclusive | ‘Now there are job incentives for people in the para-sport ecosystem’: Deepa Malik")
India’s historic performance at the recently concluded Paris Paralympics, where the country won as many as 29 medals, was another big reminder of just how much and how quickly para-sport in the country is developing and becoming stronger.
Incredibly, India had won 8 medals in 10 editions of the Summer Paralympics from 1968 to 2012. The total number of medals won between the Rio edition in 2016 and Paris 2024, was a mind-boggling 52. Needless to say, all the stakeholders – the athletes, the government, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), the able-bodied federations which oversee individual para-sports, the Sports Authority of India, the sponsors etc have all done a stellar job.
To see para-athletes as brand ambassadors and being promoted as role-models is a matter of immense pride. And according to the first Indian female Paralympic medallist and the former President of the Paralympic Committee of India, Deepa Malik, who oversaw some of the biggest changes that were brought about in the PCI, mainstreaming para-sport is the biggest reason for the continued success at the Paralympics and other global competitions.
Malik, who is also a four-time Asian Para-Games medallist and Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee, also talked about the importance of female participation in global para-sports, how Indian para-athletes are not resting on past laurels but aiming for bigger prizes, how para-sport administration in India has, over the years, become more and more professional and well-managed.
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