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Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

After discus throw, Jaideep Deswal will be competing at the Tokyo Paralympics in powerlifting

Qualifying to the Paralympics in two different sports is an amazing achievement

Jaideep Deswal
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Jaideep Deswal

By

Kaustub Bharadwaj

Updated: 25 Aug 2021 2:35 PM GMT

At the 2012 London Paralympics, Jaideep Deswal participated in the men's discus throw F42. He achieved a very creditable 7th place finish. At the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics, Jaideep will be competing at 72kg powerlifting. These are two very different sports. There are not many sportspeople who are good enough to compete at the global level in two different sports. Qualifying to the Paralympics in two different sports is an amazing achievement. However, he has not just qualified in two different sports, he is a genuine medal contender in both sports.

Jaideep Deswal is an athlete from Rohtak, Haryana. He grew up in a small village in the outskirts of the district. Jaideep had his left leg paralyzed as a four month old child because he was given the wrong vaccine by a doctor. He picked up discus throwing in 2007 due to the encouragement of his uncle and friends. He was extremely successful as a discus thrower participating in the London Paralympics as well as many other top level competitions.

Jaideep Deswal

Jaideep finished in seventh place at the London Paralympics. He won a gold medal at the National para athletic championships in 2018. He got a fourth place finish at the 2014 Commonwealth games and Asian games. He also finished fourth at the 2017 world para athletics championships.

Jaideep first started powerlifting as a way to train himself for discus throw. However, he soon realized he could compete at powerlifting as a sport at the top level. He qualified for the world para powerlifting championships in 2017. At this world championships, Jaideep finished in seventh place, a pretty good result for someone who had just taken up the sport competitively. He also finished fourth at the Asian para games in 2018 in powerlifting.

Jaideep will be looking to break the fourth place jinx this time and win a medal for India. He has finished fourth in four different top level competitions across his two different sports. He will be looking to improve on his performance at those competitions and bring glory to the country.

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