Deepthi’s journey from small-town Khammam to glory on the world stage

ATHLETICS | The hard-working 20-year-old, an inmate of SAI STC here, won a third International medal — the 400m silver in Virtus Global Games (intellectual impairment category) in Vichy (France) a couple of days ago

J. Deepthi who won a 400m silver in the Virtus Global Games (intellectual impairment category) in Vichy (France) a couple of days ago. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A few years ago, J. Deepthi fell from the top of a building and yet didn’t feel any pain! Not because of any extraordinary power but because of her intellectual impairment where she cannot express her feelings freely like any other normal girl.

When Deepthi first competed in a State-level athletic meet in Khammam in 2019 despite these challenges, she caught the attention of SAI athletics coach N. Ramesh, who felt that she could be groomed given her ‘rare qualities’.

Not surprisingly, Deepthi’s parents — daily wage labourers in Kalleda (Warangal) — told him that they didn’t have money even to pay the bus fare. So, as with many athletes sponsored by the Gopi-Mytrah Foundation, Ramesh decided to take her under his tutelage and train her at the Gachibowli Stadium and the Gaudium International School here.

Deepthi, later on, surprised her mother by giving Rs. 30,000 of her cash incentive which she got for winning a Youth Asia championship medal.

The hard-working 20-year-old, an inmate of SAI STC here, won a third International medal — the 400m silver in Virtus Global Games (intellectual impairment category) in Vichy (France) a couple of days ago. Deepthi also won a silver in the 200m event on Friday in the same meet in France.

She had previously won the 400m gold in the Morocco Para Athletic Meet and another 400m gold in the Oceania-Pacific Games in Australia.

Ramesh reveals that they had a tough time initially in training Deepthi because she could not communicate. P. Gopi Chand, chief national badminton coach, the suggested she be taken to the National Institute of Mentally Handicapped (Bowenpally, Hyderabad) for necessary medical tests and get her certified to compete in the ‘intellectual impaired’ quota given her rare talent.

“One of the early challenges for me was Deepthi was shivering in training sessions and couldn’t explain the reason. She had issues in grasping for obvious reasons. We had to be very patient and make her feel comfortable despite all odds,” said Ramesh, who is now hoping his trainee will win more medals in the coming meets.