India’s Deepthi Jeevanji defended the women’s 400m T20 gold medal at the Asian Para Games on Tuesday, setting a new Games record with a time of 56.36 seconds.
The 23-year-old Telangana athlete improved on the previous winning mark of 56.59 seconds, set in 2022, by 0.23 seconds to retain the title.
A two-time Para World Championships medallist, the sprinter won gold at the 2024 World Championships and bronze in the same event at the Paralympics.
The athlete began competing at the age of 15, when Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach N Ramesh spotted the youngster’s talent at a state-level athletics meet. Recognising the potential, he began training the Telangana runner and helped develop those abilities.
The international debut came at the 2019 Asian Youth Championships in Hong Kong, where the sprinter won bronze.
Between 2019 and 2022, the athlete continued competing in events organised by the Athletics Federation of India.
Early achievements included gold medals in the 100m and 200m events at the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati.
Multiple medals at the National Junior and Youth Championships followed, earning recognition as a Khelo India athlete.
At the 2023 Asian Para Games, the Telangana runner broke both the Games and Asian records in the women’s 400m T20 event.
The athlete reached another milestone at the 2024 World Championships, setting a world record of 55.07 seconds.
The latest gold medal and record-breaking performance underline the sprinter’s consistency and continued success at major international competitions.
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