World Para Athletics C'ships: Indian sprinter Preeti Pal opens up on her journey

Indian para athlete Preeti Pal who was born with cerebral palsy enthralled her audience at the Bombay Gymkhana club during a moving fireside chat on Tuesday eveningThe felicitation ceremony in association with Olympic Gold Quest OGQ celebrated her two World Para Athletics Championships 2025 medals mdash a silver in the womenrsquos 100m T35 category and a bronze in the womenrsquos 200 m T35 event that she won in New Delhi recently Pal previously won two bronze medals in the womenrsquos 100m and 200m at the 2024 Paris ParalympicsCriticism from societyldquoI was born in a village Hashimpur in Uttar Pradesh At my birth people in my village by and large reacted with disappointment telling my father lsquoyou now have another daughter after your elder one This one is afflicted with cerebral palsy What will she dorsquo My father told me he had replied then lsquoshe is my daughter I will bring her up to be independentrsquo and he didrdquo Pal spoke of her early days to former India badminton star Ajay Jayaram who was anchoring the chatIndiarsquos Preeti Pal during the womenrsquos 100m T35 final at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi on October 5 PicPTIPal revealed that she was the object of ridicule too due to her condition ldquoI used to be ridiculed on the streets often I had comments thrown at me like lsquoSee how she walksrsquo Those words cut like a knife They were so hurtful but they also lit a fire in my heart I was determined to show these people what I could do prove them wrong somehow I wanted to show what I could do for Indiardquo she addedLiving with her grandparents as a teen in Meerut Pal said she was always interested in sport ldquoI once competed in a local sports meet without telling anyone and won two medals in the sprints That was years ago My sporting journey had begunrdquoThe diminutive Pal revealed that she first learnt about para sports after watching Instagram reels She then climbed the sporting rungs quickly and with support from friends family her coach and OGQ she found herself catapulted to the international stageldquoEarlier I would let pressure get the better of me Before the Paris 2024 Paralympics my coach told me lsquoThink of this as your workout absolutely no pressurersquo Yet my legs were shaking when I went towards the start line Then as the gun went off only the finish line was in front of me I ran my heart soul and lungs out and medalled bronze for India Chants of lsquoIndia Indiarsquo rang in my ears The OGQ team got emotional In the 200m there was less pressure and I once again won bronzerdquo added Pal looking visibly moved as she received a standing ovationOf her silver 100m and bronze 200m at the World Para Athletics Championships recently Pal said ldquoThere was some pressure Currently I live and train in Delhi so this was my home ground Here too I finished on the podium and that too after the 100m had to be rerun I had given my all in the 100m earlier but a technical error meant we had to run it again And despite that jumble after some time out regaining strength I medalled in the race againrdquoLots of love post Paris GamesPal 25 recalled her heroic homecoming after the Paris Games ldquoWhen I arrived home post the Paralympics I had a cavalcade of cars behind me People were cheering they were giving me their little children to bless lsquoAashirwaad aashirwaadrsquo they kept saying I was embarrassed I said lsquoI am not God just a human beingrsquo But the biggest reward for me was seeing the same people who taunted my father about me offering him garlands and laddoos nowrdquoPalrsquos next target is the 2026 Asian Games in Japan ldquoI want to improve on my personal best and change the colour of my medal at the next Asian Games After a monthrsquos rest we start training againrdquo she added1421sBronze in 100m T35 at Paralympics3001sBronze in the 200m T35 at Paralympics1433sSilver in 100m T35 at World Para Crsquoships3003sBronze in 200m T35 at World Para Crsquoships