Top 5 physically challenged athletes who participated in the Olympics

# 4 – Natalia Partyka

Sport – Table Tennis

Natalia Partyka – Against the odds!

Born in Poland without a right hand and forearm, Partyka began competing in the Table Tennis championships for physically challenged athletes in 1999. She at first competed in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, and in 2004 at the Athens Paralympic Games, she won gold in singles and silver in team event.

By 2006, she began participating in able-bodied sports and achieved moderate success. In 2008, she qualified for both the Paralympic and able-bodied games in Beijing.

She defeated many top ranked Chinese players despite lacking body balance. In Beijing, she couldn’t win medals in normal criteria but she repeated her Athens feat by winning the singles gold in Beijing.