Paralympics: Preethi Pal, whose weak legs bow before a strong heart

The Indian medal rush has begun in Paris Paralympics and young Preethi Pal has become one of the standout performers already, capping her bronze medal in the women’s 100 m T35 class last Friday by storming to another third place finish in the 200 m on Sunday.

The 23-year-old now has a major ‘first’ to her credit as she became the first women’s para athlete from India to claim two medals at the track in Paralympics, while she is only the second athlete after shooter Avani Lekhara to earn two medals in a single edition in Paris. Any sprint medal at this level brings its own challenges because of the depth of competition and Preethi showed she belonged there with a personal best of 30.01 sec to finish behind Chinese pair Xia Zhou and Guo Qianqian in 200 m.

"This is after five years of hard work but there have been people who have been taunting me and saying things that I won because I was lucky," Preethi told the media after winning the second medal. "Winning tonight proves to people that it is not by luck alone but because of hard work. This is due to my coach Gaje bhaiya (Gajendra Singh) who I remember after I had vomited in training because the intensity was so high."

Meanwhile, it was a fruitful day for India in field events as Nishad Kumar soared high in men’s high jump T47 category for a silver after clearing 2.4 metres. Yogesh Kathunia turned up at his best for a silver in the men’s discus throw in F56 category for a repeat of his Tokyo showing. Kathunia’s second best throw of 42.22 metres at Stade de France was good enough to ensure a podium finish for him.

Born into a farmer’s family in Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Preethi had a traumatic childhood as after her birth, the lower body was plastered for six days due to a condition where she had weak legs and an irregular leg posture, making her prone to various diseases, and she underwent various traditional treatment to strengthen her legs. 

At the age of five, she started wearing calipers and wore them for eight years. There were many who doubted whether the sickly girl would even survive, but Preethi proved to be a fighter to overcome a life-threatening condition with incredible strength of character. 

At 17, Preethi’s perspective began to shift when she watched the Paralympic Games for the first time on social media. She was inspired and realised that she too could pursue her dreams on the track, but financial constraints made it difficult for her to afford transportation. Her life changed when she met Paralympic athlete Fatima Khatoon, who introduced her to para athletics.

With Fatima’s support, Preethi competed in the state para athletics championships in 2018 and then competed in numerous national events. Her hard work paid off when she qualified for the Asian Para Games 2022 in Hangzhou, where she finished fourth in both 100 and 200 m sprints.

While Preethi had missed out on a medal there, it provided her with the belief that she could be destined for bigger things. She moved to Delhi to train under Gajender Singh and together, they focused on refining her running technique, leading to significant improvement in her performance.

A rising performance graph, along with Preethi’s dedication and hard work, earned her a call-up at the World Para Athletics Championship early this year, where she excelled with bronze medals in both 100 and 200 m. 

What is T35?

The T35 category is defined as someone with coordination impairment (e.g. hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis), but the spunky girl overcame it to return two golds at the Indian Open Para Athletics International Championship as well as the National Para Athletics Championship earlier this year in the build-up to Paris.

Incidentally, she was only eligible for out-of-pocket expenses under the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) and trained under the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex in New Delhi, but has provided enough returns!