A story of indomitable spirit: Deepa malik
In today’s edition, we explore the journey of Deepa Malik, the Indian Paralympian who has achieved great heights over the last two decades. Her story of the undefeatable human spirit, grit, and believing in yourself, can give you chills. Paralysed, chest down, at the young of 29, she started her sports journey at age 36, and went on to win more than 23 international, and over 58 national medals. In 2016, aged 46, she won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put, making her the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic medal. She is the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2012, and the Padma Shri in 2017, and the Khel Ratna (highest sports award in India) in 2019. She is an avid biker, an adventure sports enthusiast, and has undertaken Raid De Himalaya - an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18,00 feet (5,500 m).
Born in an Army family in 1970, she was an active kid growing up. Yet in many ways her childhood wasn’t easy. When she was 5 years old, a spinal tumor was detected in her body. While she got treated over a 3 year period, she spent a lot of her time in the hospital, first undergoing surgery and then rehabilitation where she had to relearn how to walk. After rehabilitation, her life was back to normal. Outdoors and biking were her twin passions at the time. She completed her schooling from Kendrividalya in Calcutta, and then pursued her graduation from Sophia college Ajmer. She was a biking enthusiast and her interest in biking is what led to her meeting her then boyfriend and now husband, Bikram Singh, who she married in 1989.
In 1999, while her husband was at the Kargil war front, she experienced a situation that devastated her. The tumors in her spine had resurfaced, and the doctors told her she had two choices. She could either undergo a surgery that will likely leave her paralyzed or if chooses to remain untreated she may die. Deepa chose life over death, in part because she wanted to be there for her two daughters, given that her husband was on the war front. She was told she has seven days left to walk. In the seven days given to her, instead of wallowing on her condition, she took the time to prepare herself mentally and physically. She got a customized bed made for her, bought a microwave so her daughters 4 and 9 at the time could heat their food and have it, and prepared herself for a wheelchair bound life if she survived. She ended up having three back to back surgeries. With 183 stitches between her shoulder blades, she was in a coma for 40 days before returning home.
In the years that followed, Deepa was still trying to adapt to her new life, working on strengthening herself. At the time there was a lot of social stigma around disability, and she would often hear comments about being a physical and financial liability. People would even pity her for not being able to take care or cook for her daughters. A soldier at heart, Deepa decided to not let others’ view of her define her. She started a restaurant and a catering business, Dee’s Plate. Army officers would often frequent the place. It was at this time that one of the officers visiting her restaurant, amazed by her knowledge and passion for bikes, encouraged her to get a custom bike built for herself, apply for a license. She decided to go for a rebah at the Center of Spinal injuries in Delhi to strengthen her body. As a part of the rebah she was encouraged to swim as a way of building shoulder strength. This marked a turning point in her life.
She enjoyed swimming, and won several national medals. In 2006, she established 3 national records for swimming in three different stroke categories, followed by a silver medal in the Asian games the year after. Just as things were starting to look up and she was contemplating competing internationally, she was told not to swim in cold water pools as it can increase the chances of a cardiac arrest. With a lack of heated pools and accompanying infrastructure in the country, she had to bid adieu to swimming. But before she bid farewell to swimming, she decided to go out with a bang. She prepared rigorously for 4 months to swim across the Yamuna, in doing so and set a Limca record for the country.
With the 2010 Commonwealth Games around the corner, and encouraged by her coach, she decided to give Javelin a try. She didn’t win any medal, but the exposure of participating in such a forum was an eyeopener on many counts. She learnt about the international Paralympic committee, the events it hosts, the qualification process etc. Armed with this information and renewed passion, she won a bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Para Games in China. She started preparing for the 2012 London Paralympic games, on track to be India’s first woman Paralympian. Yet as fate would have it, she received her Arjuna award the same day as the London games were commencing, meaning she had to skip the competition. In an excerpt from the book Dream of a Billion written by Boria Majumdar, Nalin Mehta, she was quoted saying people used to tell her “Madam ab bahut ho gaya (this is enough). You are lucky that you have received Arjuna without going to olympics. You are 42 now and should retire”.
Not one to live life on others terms, she set her eyes on the 2016 Olympics. She prepared for hours at the end, and in the process won many medals at the Asian and national level for Javelin. With less than a year to go, she looked on track for the Olympics. But yet again there was a twist. Javelin, for which had been preparing for 3 years, was replaced with Shot Put in her category in the Rio Games. True to her character, she wasn’t ready to let go. She says “I was not ready to accept defeat. I wanted to go to the Olympics, and decided to start learning shot put.”
The initial months were difficult. In one of her interviews she says “When I started shotput I couldn't control my bowel movements. I would pass urine or stool on each throw and would need to change my diaper”. It felt like all the forces were conspiring against me”. However, with the initiation of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) by Sports Authority of India, things started to improve. With monetary support from TOPS, she was able to make modifications to her equipment and chair, as well as hire a doctor, nurse and physiotherapy that made a marked difference to her training. She comfortably beat the Rio qualification mark of 3.67 meters, and hit 4.48 meters during the trials, a national record at the time. But the very next day after her qualification, there were allegations of tampering with the trial results against her, and she was taken to court for it. She fought the case and trolls valiantly, and finally the verdict was awarded in her favor.
Finally the D-day had arrived. It was September 14, 2016. She was going to realize her dream of representing the country in Olympics. Not only did she represent the country, she created a record with a throw at 4.61 meters and became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic medal. Even after such towering feats, she had to wait her time and make a case for her contributions to be recognized. Finally, in 2019, she was awarded the Khel Ratna.
In 2020, Deepa announced retirement, and was elected as the President of the Paralympic Committee of India. She, along with her daughter Devika Malik, run the Wheeling Happiness NGO focused on creating a more inclusive society with greater opportunities for those with mental and physical disabilities.
There are 3 key takeaways for professional life from Deepa’s incredible journey
1. We don't control what happens to us on the way, but we can always control how the story ends
As is evident from her countless challenges, (starting with her paralysis and then later having to change her choice of sport 3 times from swimming to javelin to shot put), she showcased an unwavering belief in herself. She had a burning desire to excel in sports and represent her country in the Olympics, and she made it happen with a curvaceous road. She is a clear testament to challenges don’t define us, but how we respond to these challenges defines us.
2. What stands in the way, must become the way
So often, we are embarrassed of our weaknesses or disabilities (both physical and mental), and let them define us. Yet, if we can turn our perceived shortcomings into things we wear with honor and pride, we can carve out a unique identity for ourselves. Deepa didn’t wallow in self pity, but rather found ways to excel with her new identity - be it in sports, in winning beauty pageants, or even competing in adventure sports.
3. It takes effort, resourcefulness and resolve to be the first
Just because something hasn’t been done yet, doesn’t mean it cannot be done. All it means is that you need to work doubly hard to carve out the way. Along the way, you will encounter the unknown, the naysayers, the genuine doubters, but that’s where you need to keep persevering to find an answer. To beat the unknown you must have the curiosity to gather information to help navigate, and the courage to hold your own to create a path where none exists.
Footnotes:
https://scroll.in/author/13045
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5lnXTzYlLM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepa_Malik#Achievements
https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/the-true-story-of-how-mom-and-athlete-deepa-malik-didnt-let-her-paralysis-define-her-life/
