Preethi becomes first Indian woman to win two Paralympic track medals

PREETHI Pal made history by becoming the first Indian woman track and field athlete to win two medals at the Paralympics, while Nishad Kumar secured his second consecutive silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 category at the Paris Games on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Preethi earned a bronze in the 200m T35 category with a personal best time of 30.01 seconds. She had also claimed a bronze in the 100m T35 category on Friday.

Preethi became only the second Indian woman to win two medals in a single Paralympics, following shooter Avani Lekhara, who won a gold and a bronze in Tokyo three years ago.

In the 200m T35 event, world record holder and Tokyo Paralympics champion Zhou Xia of China won the gold with a time of 28.15 seconds, while her compatriot Guo Qianqian took the silver with a time of 29.09 seconds. The T35 classification is designated for athletes with coordination impairments, such as hypertonia, ataxia, and athetosis.

Later in the day, 24-year-old Nishad Kumar, from Una in Himachal Pradesh, added to India’s medal tally in para-athletics by winning a silver in the men's high jump T47 category with a season’s best effort of 2.04m. This marks his second silver at the Paralympics, having won his first at the Tokyo Games three years ago with a jump of 2.06m. He faced strong competition from Townsend Roderick of the USA, who took the gold by clearing 2.12m. Margiev Georgii, representing Neutral Paralympic Athlete, finished third with a jump of 2m.

Another Indian competitor, Ram Pal, placed seventh in the same event with a personal best jump of 1.95m. The T47 classification is for competitors with a below elbow or wrist amputation or impairment.

Preethi Pal, a farmer’s daughter from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, became the first Indian to win an athletics medal in a Paralympics track event with her bronze in the women’s T35 100m competition on Friday, where she clocked a personal best of 14.21 seconds. Prior to this, all athletics medals won by India since the 1984 Paralympics were in field events. The only other Indian woman to have won a track and field Paralympics medal is Deepa Malik, who secured a silver in shot put (F53 category) at the 2016 Rio Games.

Preethi has faced numerous physical challenges since birth, including being born with weak legs and an irregular leg posture, leading to various treatments to strengthen her legs. Her introduction to para-athletics came at the age of 17, inspired by watching the Paralympics on social media and later meeting Paralympic athlete Fatima Khatoon.

Nishad Kumar's journey has been shaped by determination, drawing inspiration from his mother, a state-level volleyball player and discus thrower. He started his athletic career in wrestling and athletics before focusing on javelin throw. His professional training began in 2017, leading to international success, including a gold medal at the Asian Youth Para Games. His achievements continued with a gold at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, and a silver medal at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championship in Japan.

Earlier, India’s Ravi Rongali finished fifth in the men’s F40 shot put final with a personal best throw of 10.63m, competing in a field that included world record holder Miguel Montero of Portugal, who took gold. In the women’s 1500m T11 race, Rakshita Raju did not advance past the heats, finishing last in her heat with a time of 5:29.92s. The T11 category is for athletes with visual impairments, where competitors often run with guides.

(With inputs from PTI)