Who is Karamjyoti Dalal? All you need to know about the Indian para-athlete competing in the Paris 2024 Paralympics

Indian para discus thrower Karamjyoti Dalal is all set for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. She was part of the Rio Paralympics in 2016 but had three false starts in Rio.

Karamjyoti, from Rohtak, Haryana, was born in 1987. She competed for Haryana in Judo and Kabaddi at the national level. However, in 2008, she fell from the terrace, which impaired her motor sensation.

Later, she shifted her pet sport to discus throw and was employed as a coach at the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs in Haryana after learning about para-athletics through one of her aunts.

Karamjyoti Dalal’s international debut in 2014 and double bronze medals

In 2014, Karamjyoti Dalal made her international debut at the Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, finishing fourth. She secured a bronze medal at the World Para Athletic Championships 2014 in London.

Paralympics debut and heartbreak

At the Rio Paralympics in 2016, she couldn't make a mark in the final after failing in her three attempts. China's Feixia Dong with 25.03m went on to win the gold medal with Germany's Marianne Buggenhagen and Diana Dadzite of Latvia winning silver and bronze medals.

Subsequently, in 2017, she secured another bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships. In March 2017, she won a gold medal at the Fazaa International IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai.

Heartfelt contribution during COVID pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Karamjyoti contributed INR 1 lakh from her savings to the PM CARES fund and additionally, she contributed one month of her salary to the Haryana Corona Relief Fund.

In 2019, iDiva featured her in a six-part documentary series “Toughest Women In India” that honors women who have built their own identity in a world that tells what a woman should be.

Later, Karamjyoti Dalal took part in the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, where she won a silver medal. She was also conferred with the state's highest sporting honor, the "Bhim Award."