Paris Paralympics 2024: Preethi Pal wins bronze in Women's 200m T35 event

This Preethi Pal’s second medal at the Paris Paralympics.

Para sprinter Preethi Pal clinched the bronze medal in women’s 200m T35 event at the Paris Paralympics 2024. This marks India’s second medal in para athletics, and sixth overall at the global showpiece event. The T35 class involves athletes with coordination impairments such as ataxia, athetosis and hypertonia.

This is Preethi’s second medal at the Paris Games, having also clinched bronze in Women’s 100m T35 event too. It is worth noting that India had never won a medal in track events at the Paralympics previously.

Preethi Pal clinches her 2nd medal at #ParisParalympics2024!! 🥉🥳She wins BRONZE 🥉 in women's 200m T35 after clocking a new Personal Best timing of 30.01s.Preethi becomes first-ever Indian woman track & field athlete to win 2️⃣ medals at the #Paralympics or #Olympics. pic.twitter.com/fNuGQULKHl

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 1, 2024

The athlete, who will turn 24 later this month, clocked her personal best timing of 30.01 seconds to finish third in the race.

It was a 1-2 podium finish for China, with Zhou Xia winning the gold medal by clocking 28.15 seconds, while Guo Qianqian achieved her personal best timing of 29.09 seconds to win silver. Interestingly, the podium for this event is identical to the one after the 100m sprint.

Also Read: Top eight Indian athletes with most medals at Paralympics

In the race today, it was quite clear who the medal winners would be, early on. Zhou took a massive lead. She was followed by Guo. Preethi tried her best to catch up with the latter, but it was always going to be a tall order. These three athletes were well clear of the pack.

Preethi had significant physical challenges when she was born, with her lower body being plastered six days after birth. At the age of five, she started wearing callipers and wore them for eight years. While her survival was under threat a number of times, Preethi turned out to be a fighter, emerging victorious.

She was initially not able to pursue her dream of playing sports, as she, being born to a farmer’s family, had to battle financial constraints. Life took a turn, when she met Paralympic athlete Fatima Khatoon, who introduced her to para-athletics. With the help of Fatima, Preethi competed in state and national championships.

Her hard work paid off as she qualified for the 100m and 200m events at the Asian Para Games 2022. Heartbreakingly, the athlete from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, finished fourth in both events.

Preethi, instead of being crest-fallen, took this as a learning curve. Her performances improved and she ended up clinching bronze medals in both her events at the World Para Athletics Championship 2024.

By winning not one but two track medals at the Paris Paralympics, Preethi has etched herself in the history books. Her story of determination and resilience is sure to inspire an entire generation of athletes.

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