Who is the oldest Indian athlete to win medal at Paralympics?
(Courtesy : @DeepaAthlete/Twitter)
Rio Paralympics 2016 saw Deepa Malik become the first Indian woman to win a medal at the games.
India has witnessed several milestones and records in each of the Paralympic games. The Rio Paralympics 2016 saw Deepa Malik become the oldest Indian medallist in the event’s history. She was 45 years, 11 months and 13 days old, when she clinched a silver medal in the women’s shot put F53 event. Malik also became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics.
The Rio Paralympics 2016 was held from September 7 to September 18. The women’s shot put F53 event was held on September 12 and Malik secured India’s third medal and only silver of the games.
The nation saw a fourth medal being collected two days later at the games. India had won four medals at Rio 2016 and all of them were in Athletics.
How did Deepa Malik become India’s oldest Paralympic medallist at Rio 2016?
Malik began her quest for a medal with a throw of 4.26m in the finals. She then improved it to a 4.49m in her next attempt. She recorded a 4.41m in her third attempt and could not register a throw in the next. Malik again threw 4.41m in her fifth attempt but made a massive comeback in her final attempt.
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The 45-year-old para-athlete registered a personal best of 4.61m in her sixth attempt as she secured silver medal. Fatema Nedham of Bahrain won gold with a throw of 4.76m in her third attempt. Dimitra Korokida of Greece won the bronze medal with a best attempt of 4.28m.
Nedham was 49 years old when she won gold in Rio. She was the first athlete from her nation to win a Paralympic medal. The women’s shot put F53 event became a landmark moment for Indian Paralympic sporting history with the victory of Deepa Malik.
India had won its first Paralympic medal in 1972 and 44-years-later the nation recorded its first woman medallist. The Rio Paralympics 2016 set high benchmark for female athletes in India as Malik’s silver medal encouraged her juniors to collect accolades for the nation.
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