Preethi Pal faced significant physical challenges when she was born as her lower body was plastered for six days after birth. Weak legs and an irregular leg posture made her prone to various diseases
She underwent various traditional treatments to strengthen her legs, including wearing callipers for eight years from the age of five
At 17, Preethi's perspective began to change when she watched the Paralympic Games on social media. But her life-changing moment came when she met Paralympic athlete Fatima Khatoon, who introduced her to para-athletics
Preethi Pal, a farmer's daughter from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, had clinched India's first athletics medal in a Paralympics track event, winning a bronze in the women's T35 100m competition with a personal best time of 14.21 seconds
She scripted history during the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 as she became the first Indian woman track and field athlete to win two medals (both bronze) in the single edition of the Para Games
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