India's Preethi Pal created a bit of history on Friday, August 30 when she claimed a bronze medal in the women's T35 100m event with a personal best time of 14.21 seconds at the Paris Paralympics 2024. The 23-year-old Preethi's bronze is India's first medal from para-athletics in the Paris Paralympics. (Full Coverage | More Sports News)
China's Zhou Xia (13.58) and Guo Qianqian (13.74) won the gold and silver respectively.
T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis, as well as cerebral palsy.
Who Is Preethi Pal?
Preethi was born in a farmer's family on September 22, 2000. Early on, she faced a lot of physical challenges, that saw her lower body being plastered six days after birth. With weak legs and incorrect leg posture, Preethi was prone to diseases. For this, she underwent various treatments to treat her weak legs.
At the age of 5, Preethi wore calipers and kept wearing them for eight years. Despite many doubting her chances of survival, Preethi showed her fighting skills, overcoming life-threatening conditions and issues, remonstrating indomitable strength and resolve.
At 17, she watched Paralympics and her perspective changed. Preethi was inspired by the para athletes and decided to pursue her dreams. She began her practice in a stadium but financial difficulties did not help her. However, her meeting with fellow para athlete Fatima Khatoon changed Preethi's life.
Fatima's guidance aided Preethi's growth as she competed at the State Para Athletics Championships in 2018 and other numerous national events. Her hard work eventually paid off when she qualified for the Asian Para Games in 2022, wherein she finished fourth in both 100m and 200m sprints.
Despite her failure to clinch a medal at the Asian Para Games, Preethi was determined to put on a good show at the Paralympic Games. In Delhi, she trained with Gajender Singh, as both focused on her running technique as well as improving her performance on the track.
Preethi's hard work did pay off when she was selected for the World Para Athletics Championship as she clinched bronze medals in 100m and 200m events in 2024.
Preethi Pal key details
Home location: Muzaffarnagar, U.P
Discipline: Para Athletics
Event: Women’s T35 100m & 200m
Training Base: SAI JLN Stadium, New Delhi
Disability Class: T35 (Coordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis)
Major achievements
World Para Athletics Championship (2024) - 02 Bronze Medals
Asian Para Games 2022 (2023) - 4th Position
Indian Open Para Athletics International Championship (2024) - 02 Gold Medals
National Para Athletics Championship (2024) - 2 Gold Medals
Key Government Intervention
Financial Assistance for training a competition
Out-of-pocket allowance under TOPS
OPA under Khelo India along with training facility
