Jyoti’s cycle of life: From pain to pedal

From excelling in kabaddi at the state and national level with powerful raids and tackles to suddenly being confined to a hospital bed without a leg was a sudden lifealtering experience for the then teenaged Jyoti GaderiyaA road accident in 2016 shattered her spirit by rudely snatching away her left leg Eight years later she has pedalled her way into the history books as Indiarsquos first cyclist to participate in the Paralympic Games in ParislsquoThrilling experiencersquoGaderiya 26 has not yet won a medal having finished 11th in C13 individual 500m and 10th in C13 individual 3000m events so far She has one more event to go on Saturday C13 road race However just being able to get on her bike and ride for India on the Olympic stage has given her immense joy ldquoTo simply be able to represent my country at the Paralympics has been a thrilling experience I never thought I would be here Just to have this opportunity is a blessingrdquo Maharashtrarsquos Gaderiya who along with Arshad Shaik became Indiarsquos first ever Paralympic cyclists as the nation made its debut in the sport in Paris told midday on ThursdayAlso ReadVamikarsquos brace helps AVM girls defend U16 DivI titleIndia para cyclist Jyoti GaderiyaTo explain why merely participating at the Olympics is so special Gaderiya who hails from Dongargaon a village Pune district takes us down her dark and painful memory lane ldquoAfter meeting with the accident and losing a leg I didnrsquot know what to so Life suddenly became tough I was in a lot of pain The thought of suicide crossed my mind many times I went into depression that lasted two years Itrsquos a horrible horrible feeling My parents were completely broken They too did not know what to do My whole family was in traumardquo explained JyotiNevergiveup attitudeInterestingly Jyotirsquos kabaddi instincts helped her emerge from the depths of depression ldquoBefore my accident I was a kabaddi player I was a good raider as well as a fine defender I never gave up there so there is no way I could give up on liferdquo said Gaderiya who picked up rowing in 2019 and competed at the Asian Rowing Championships the same year She then switched to cycling ldquoI took up cycling in 2022 and it has made me strong Cycling has added a new dimension to my life and has given me a reason to wake up every day and work hard I train for five to six hours dailymdashtwo hours on the bike followed by two hours of strength and conditioning and twothree hours of rehabilitation work having gone through multiple surgeriesrdquo explained Gaderiya who won three gold medals in paracycling at the Asian Track Championships in New Delhi earlier this yearShe is now hoping her remarkable journey serves as an inspiration to others ldquoMy advice to other parasportspersons is to always stay hopeful and keep moving forward Give your all and the best will follow Stay determined and trust the process Every amputee can succeed if they push their limitsrdquo she signed off