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What's the story?
Indian para athlete and lone woman Paralympic Games medalist Deepa Malik has been elected as the President of the Paralympic Committee of India in the polls held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The background
Deepa Malik is a highly decorated Para sports athlete and was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympic Games. She won the silver medal in the Shot Put F-53 event at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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The heart of the matter
Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) is the governing body that is responsible for selection of Indian athletes to represent the nation at paralympic events across the country as well as international events.
The PCI underwent their elections and chose their Executive Board members as well as the Office bearers of the committee. Deepa Malik was elected unopposed as the President of the committee whereas Mr. Kavender Chaudhury and Shashi Ranjan Prasad Singh were elected as the Vice Presidents.
Paralympian Deepa Malik has won many laurels for the country on the World stage as she won the silver medal in the IPC World Championships (2011) in the Shot Put event. In addition to them, she clinched the silver medal recently each in Discus (F 52 - 53) and Javelin Throw (F 53 - 54) events at the 2018 Asian Paralympic Games held in Indonesia. She is the first Indian woman athlete to win medals at three consecutive Asian Paralympic Games events (2010, 2014 and 2018).
Deepa Malik is a distinguished athlete in the Indian sports fraternity having been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2012 for her outstanding achievements in the sport. This was followed by the Padma Shri Award in 2017 and the country's highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2019 for her success.
What's next?
The final results of the PCI elections are subject to a pending case in the Delhi High Court as the new committee gets ready to take charge of the Paralympic sports in India.
