Deepa Malik, who had become the first Indian para-athlete to win a medal in Paralympics, on Tuesday revealed that she had to switch over from javelin to shot-put and prepare herself for the quadrennial event in just 11 months.
"I was training for javelin all along and winning an Asian medal for the second time in 2014 in Incheon, Korea, I was world No 2 in category 53 for javelin," Malik said.
Speaking during the launch of a course titled 'The Edge' by International Institute of Sports Management, Malik recalled how she had to acquaint herself with a new skill in a short period of time before the Paralympics in 2016.
"At that point of time, I was happy that going to win a medal in javelin and suddenly in 2015 when the final event list came out, my category has shot-put instead of javelin," she said.
"I had 11 months to prepare for Paralympics with a new sport, new skills, new coaching and reinventing my body to be able to handle another equipment, which is 4 kg," she said, narrating how she clinched the silver medal in shot-put.
Malik, who has already opted out of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, said she was aiming to create a record in sea swimming and was hurt not to be part of the recently concluded World Championships for para-athletes.
Meanwhile, former India Hockey captain Viren Rasquinha also spoke about how he overcame failures in his playing days in the presence of former India spinner Nilesh Kulkarni.
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