Dr Deepa Malik was recently conferred a Special Recognition honour at the UK-India Awards 2024 during the 6th Annual India Global Forum in London in celebration of her immense contribution to the field of para-athletics.
Dr Malik is a hugely successful pioneer of disability sports, especially for women, in India. Her success is not limited to solely her professional career but post-retirement, she has continued to play an active role in inspiring the next generation of Indian para-athletes.
Deepa Malik was diagnosed with a spine tumour at the age of five but managed to recover after three years of treatment and physiotherapy. In 1999, the tumour returned when Malik was 29 and this time, a series of three operations were needed to remove the tumour. This left Malik paralysed from the chest down, but she did not let this setback stop her as she soon began developing an interest in sports and started her career as a para-athlete at the age of thirty.
She has achieved numerous accolades since, including winning over 90 medals at state, national and international level and becoming the first Indian woman ever to win a medal at the Paralympic Games. She is also the recipient of the highly prestigious Arjuna, Khel Ratna and Padma Shri awards and was awarded the New Zealand PM’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship in 2019. Her long list of honours is not only testament to her remarkable success as an athlete but also her contribution to the disabled community in India.
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After retiring Malik has continued to be an enduring figure for disability sports in India, working for a period of time as the President of the Paralympic Committee of India. She is also the co-founder of the NGO ‘Wheeling Happiness’, which is designed to improve accessibility to opportunity for those living with physical and mental disabilities. The foundation aims to be a “guiding light” in the individual’s “journey to discovering themselves after undergoing a trauma or disability”.
Sharing her story with India Global Forum, Dr Malik reflected upon both the growth that disability sport has achieved and what is needed going forward to ensure equity in sport.
“There is still confusion whether [Para sport] is a mainstream sport or it is a charity sport”, but “I am very happy that today our policies are in place”.
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She called for “more infrastructurally accessible sporting arenas” and the creation of “an education system” around para sports. Dr Malik also spoke highly of the ‘we the 15’ movement which was initiated by the International Paralympic Committee at Tokyo 2020 and how “under the able guidance of the honourable prime Minister” Goa has hosted two editions of the Purple Fest – one of the largest disability conventions.
Dr Malik continues to be an inspiration, as an athlete and as a social worker, supporting the next generation of para-athletes in India and setting an example of self-empowerment in the world of disability sport.