Deepa Malik, on Monday, created history as she went on to become the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics. The 45-year-old athlete bagged a silver in the T-53 shot put event, where her best throw of 4.61 its proved to be enough for the medal. Malik is also the first Indian woman to represent India at the Paralympics. Deepa is an accomplished swimmer, biker and entrepreneur. She has her name recorded in the Limca Book of Record four times. Deepa is also a recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2012, for her contribution to swimming.

Celebrities and common people alike went on social networking site Twitter to congratulate the medal winner. Sportpersons like Virender Sehwag, Ravichandran Ashwin and Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malick also joined in on congratulating the silver medalist and expressed their pride and happiness in her achievement.

Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag’s parody account also was active in congratulating Deepa Malik on her performance at the Paralympics 2016.

Deepa is the only person to get a license for official rallies from the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India and has participated in the “Raid de Himalaya” in 2009 and the “Desert Storm” in 2010. Deepa suffered from a spinal tumor in 1999, which required 3 surgeries and 183 stitches, paralysing her from the waist down and confining her to a wheelchair. Deepa belongs to Bhaiswal district of Haryana and was an adrenaline junkie since childhood. She had also confessed in the past to agreeing to marry at the age of 20 just for a Kawasaki Bajaj 100cc. While prizes and accolades have poured in from all corners of the country, it is yet to be seen if the government takes steps towards the training and promotion of these sports persons for the biggest events of the year.