33-year-old who never throws in her hand wins twin medals in Tunisia

GURUGRAM: Ekta Bhyan, a

para-athlete

from

Hisar

, has carved her name into sports history with two podium finishes at World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2018 held in

Tunisia

between June 22-24. The 33-year-old girl clinched the gold in the F51 club throw category and the bronze in discuss throw.


A road accident in 2003 damaged her spinal cord and she was paralysed from waist down.

“The accident took place at Delhi border. My car was stationary when a huge truck hit the vehicle. The impact was so severe that it left my lower body paralysed,” she said. It took her nine months, two surgeries and extensive physiotherapy to recover.

“I was recovering at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Delhi where people would turn up in wheelchairs to encourage other patients. It was from there that I decided to make a new beginning and move forward, forgetting what happened,” she said.

Bhyan went on to do her BA and graduated from Government College, Hisar. She also appeared for Haryana Civil Services (HCS), qualifying in her second attempt. “I am an HCS employment officer posted in Hisar. Nothing is impossible for those who want to achieve their goals.”

In 2014, Amit Saroha, an Arjuna award winning paralympian, read about her clearing the HCS exam in a local newspaper and decided to meet her. Saroha motivated Bhyan to take up sports. He trained her in club throw and discus throw. “I felt I had achieved my bit in studies and wanted to make a name for myself in sports. Every day, I would train for three hours. Saroha would challenge me and ask me to go beyond my limits,” Bhyan said. She has managed to balance her work and sports. “I make sure all my work is done on time so that I can practise,” she added.

She has won

medals

at the national para athletics championship in Panchkula, Haryana, in March, 2016. Looking ahead, she plans to take part in the Asian Para Games to be held in Indonesia in October.