Karamjyoti Dalal has brought laurels to India with a bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships 2017. She won the third spot o the pedestal with a 19.02m discus throw.

Dalal had beaten Baharain’s Alomari Roba, who managed a throw of 19.01m, to claim the title. This throw has also become the best throw of Dalal in her career. With this victory of Dalal, India has reserved three medals at the championship.

Dalal picked up discus throwing only in 2014. And since then, she has named herself in the list of top 10 discus throwers in the world.

Before taking up discus throw, Dalal was a national Kabaddi player. But due to an unanticipated accident, she had to give up the sport. Dalal recalls, “When I was 21, around seven years back, I was sitting down on my terrace and there was a sudden jerk, due to my prior epilepsy problem, which saw me fall down on my back. I already had spinal cord issues from the age of six. The doctor stated I had to be diagnosed with Paraplegia. It took me a year or so to even regain motor sensations. But slowly and surely I started getting better.”

For next one year, Dalal couldn’t move and was bed-ridden. Slowly she settled herself on the wheelchair and a new mission. Dalal started participating in the F-55 category, which brings up sports that indulge no motion senses below the waist.

This was the time when Dalal became a serious contender in the 2014 Asian Games. She says, “I had no idea about para-athletics, my Aunt told me that something like this existed, so I gave it a shot. I took to it very well, in hindsight, if I took it up when I didn’t have this problem, and then I might have done better also.”

Dalal secured three medals at the National Games and knew that she could do much more. She funded herself for the Asian Games in Beijing in 2014 and won two bronze medals in the championship. “Most people didn’t even know me, so they probably dismissed me as an easy challenge, but I threw a then career-best 16.1 to bag the bronze medal,” Dalal explains.

Today, Dalal has become the world’s top 8^th player. In an interview, Dalal had expressed a wish to receive Government support to polish her sport. She says, “To be the best, you have to train with the best. Sadly, most facilities are provided abroad, and if that’s where I have to go, I will. They have everything in one place; I am eyeing nothing but the gold medal. I am thankful to my father for supporting me through my journey. I am fulfilling his dream also, not just mine. I will medal at the Paralympics!”

Earlier in the championship, Sundar Singh Gujar won gold for men in the javelin throw, which was followed by Amit Saroha’s victory in club throw event in the F-51 category.