Jyoti’s cycle of life: From pain to pedal

India’s Jyoti Gaderia during the C1-3 500m time trial qualifying at the Paralympic Games in Paris recently. Pic/Getty Images

From excelling in kabaddi at the state and national level with powerful raids and tackles to suddenly being confined to a hospital bed without a leg was a sudden, life-altering experience for the then teenaged Jyoti Gaderiya.

A road accident in 2016 shattered her spirit by rudely snatching away her left leg. Eight years later, she has pedalled her way into the history books as India's first cyclist to participate in the Paralympic Games in Paris.

‘Thrilling experience'

Gaderiya, 26, has not yet won a medal, having finished 11th in C1-3 individual 500m and 10th in C1-3 individual 3000m events so far. She has one more event to go on Saturday (C1-3 road race). However, just being able to get on her bike and ride for India on the Olympic stage has given her immense joy. "To simply be able to represent my country at the Paralympics has been a thrilling experience. I never thought I would be here. Just to have this opportunity is a blessing," Maharashtra's Gaderiya, who along with Arshad Shaik, became India's first ever Paralympic cyclists as the nation made its debut in the sport in Paris, told mid-day on Thursday.

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India para cyclist Jyoti Gaderiya

To explain why merely participating at the Olympics is so special, Gaderiya, who hails from Dongargaon, a village Pune district, takes us down her dark and painful memory lane. "After meeting with the accident and losing a leg, I didn't know what to so. Life suddenly became tough. I was in a lot of pain. The thought of suicide crossed my mind many times. I went into depression [that lasted two years]. It's a horrible, horrible feeling. My parents were completely broken. They too did not know what to do. My whole family was in trauma," explained Jyoti.

Never-give-up attitude

Interestingly, Jyoti's kabaddi instincts helped her emerge from the depths of depression. "Before my accident, I was a kabaddi player. I was a good raider as well as a fine defender. I never gave up there, so there is no way I could give up on life," said Gaderiya, who picked up rowing in 2019 and competed at the Asian Rowing Championships the same year. She then switched to cycling. "I took up cycling in 2022 and it has made me strong. Cycling has added a new dimension to my life and has given me a reason to wake up every day and work hard. I train for five to six hours daily - two hours on the bike, followed by two hours of strength and conditioning and two-three hours of rehabilitation work, having gone through multiple surgeries," explained Gaderiya, who won three gold medals in para-cycling at the Asian Track Championships in New Delhi earlier this year.

She is now hoping her remarkable journey serves as an inspiration to others. "My advice to other para-sportspersons is to always stay hopeful and keep moving forward. Give your all and the best will follow. Stay determined and trust the process. Every amputee can succeed if they push their limits," she signed off.