Meerut: Battling all odds dished out to her by fate, Zainab Khatoon, the daughter of a Meerut-based mason, clinched Silver for India in Womens 61kg Powerlifting at Asian Para Games 2023 in China on Wednesday.Zainab, now 26, was just six years old when an injection administered to her reacted abnormally, leaving her partially paralysed. I was suffering from fever and my father took me to a doctor.The injection he gave me affected my legs and I lost the ability to walk, she told TOI over the phone from China.However, Zainabs dream of achieving greatness never wavered. Despite her disability and the challenges that lay ahead, her father Mohd Adil, 47, stood by her and tried his utmost to secure a normal life for her. A resident of Sahu Nagla, about 90 km from Delhi, Adil said, She aspired to see her name and story featured alongside those of her heroes in the newspapers. She was determined that she would find a way to achieve her goals despite her disability.Zainab, who has done her bachelors in Arts, added, My father, who fixes floors for a living, did not give up on me. He worked hard and saved for my treatment. In the years that followed, I was operated upon six times in Rajasthan and Delhi until I was in Class VII, but nothing worked. There were moments of dejection, but he raised my spirits. I used to read newspapers and envied the athletes who made it big. And one fine day, one of my teachers suggested I could be a para lifter. I communicated this to my father and he was more than willing to give it a try.With the support of her family and an unshakable resolve, Zainab began her journey towards para powerlifting, a sport that she realized could define her future. Narrating her ordeal, she added, For two years, I walked to the bus stand using props to board a bus to cover the 18-km journey to the Kailash Prakash Stadium in Meerut, do workouts and go back. It was a strenuous task but all the hard work has paid off now.In an astonishing debut, Zainaab clinched gold medals in her first attempts at the state and national championships in 2021. The following year she bagged three state gold medals, one national gold medal, one national silver medal. The same year she also won a bronze medal at the 2022 Fazza Championship in Dubai, and a commendable 7th place ranking in the World Championship in Dubai, earning her qualification for the Asian championships.I saw her determination from a very early age, although she made up her mind to go into the field of sports only when she was 21. Her achievements began in 2021, when she started bringing medals. However, we come from a conservative background, and chose to keep quiet about it — we did not even share our happiness with our relatives. It was only when she clinched medals at an event in Dubai in 2022, that they began to realise what Zainab was made of. We are thankful to God who strengthened our daughter to such a level that today shes making the country proud and even the Prime Minister of India is congratulating her, Adil said, referring to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Modi said, Congratulations to Zainab Khatoon on the incredible achievement. It is a splendid Silver for her in Womens Para Powerlifting 61 kgs. Zainabs unparalleled determination and commitment are noteworthy. Best wishes for her upcoming endeavours,Father Mohd Adil (extreme left) with family and neighborhood childrenCompeting in the Asian Para Games was a challenge as her coaches believed she was still too new in the field. She was just five years into this sport — as per the standards, she was like a baby whos only begun to crawl. However, she was moving fast and showing a lot of promise, her chief coach, J P Singh, said.Zainabs ambitions dont end here. She is now eyeing the big one. I cannot wait to participate in the Para Olympics. It has always been my dream. I want to express my gratitude to my coaches who are training me through this journey, she said.Her coach and kinesiologist Tanvir Logani is confident that she will achieve her aim. Competing in Asian Games was indeed a challenging task that required special therapy to mitigate the imbalances in her body. I began training Zainab about a year ago and her progress was phenomenal. Her confidence levels have risen to a new high and she is ready to take on the challenges she faces in the forthcoming Olympics, said Logani.

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