“Incomplete without Paralympics medal”

Bhagyashree Jadhav wants to be third time lucky at LA 2028

Mumbai: The road to glory might be long and winding but champions are made of true grit. Seasoned shot putter and javelin thrower Bhagyashree Jadhav from Maharashtra, who was India’s flagbearer at the Paris Paralympics alongside Sumit Antil, has her sights on capturing a medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics.

After missing out on a medal at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, Bhagyashree hopes lady luck shines on her when she competes in LA 2028. The 37-year-old wheelchair-bound Bhagyashree won two gold medals – in shot put and javelin throw to give a glimpse of the pristine form she has been of late. Participating in the F 33-34 category (disability in lower limbs), Bhagyashree has won six gold medals across three events in the past year and a half.

On Sunday, she secured first place in shot put with a throw of 7.30 meters, pipping Medha Jayant of Karnataka (4.65m) by a big margin. Earlier, she won first place in the javelin throw competition with a throw of 13.57 meters, while Uttar Pradesh's Deepika Rani secured second place with 10.42 meters. Here too, Bhagyashree demonstrated her dominance with a three-meter margin. She has previously won two gold medals at the first edition of KIPG in New Delhi in 2023.

Entering para sports in 2017, Bhagyashree came to the fore after winning two gold medals in javelin throw and shot put at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in March. After these successes, she is now preparing to participate in the Paralympics for the third time.

“My next goal is the Paralympics,” Bhagyashree said. “Although it is almost three years away, I want to participate for the third time and win a medal for the country. In Tokyo 2020, I finished seventh in shot put, and in Paris 2024, I was fifth. But this time, my goal is to bring a medal for the country.”

Roots in small village

Hailing from the small village of Honvadaj in Nanded district of Maharashtra, where no one knew about para sports before her success, Bhagyashree lives in a joint family. This support was crucial when her accident in 2006 left her in a coma and on a ventilator for a long time – an incident she prefers not to recall.

“My family is behind my success,” she says. “Due to the accident, I was on a ventilator for a long time. I was between life and death. I was in a coma with neurological issues, and my legs function properly. After this sudden accident, my family stood completely by me. It's an incident I do not want to remember because it's painful. But I have moved far beyond that accident. Now, I only want to bring glory for my family, state, and country.”

Brother’s advice worked

Sharing her journey into para sports, Bhagyashree credits her brother – journalist Prakash Jadhav Kamble – for the same, “My brother was advised that his sister could do well in sports for the differently-abled. So, I entered this sport. I’ve been active in para sports since 2017. I started with shot put and javelin. My first event was the Mayor's Cup in Pune in 2017, where I won a gold and a bronze.”

Internationally, Bhagyashree has brought honour to India multiple times. At the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, she won a silver medal in the shot put F34 category with a throw of 7.54 meters.

“In 2019, I won two bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in China. Subsequently, I won a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games. I was part of the Indian team at the Tokyo Paralympics, where I entered the finals and finished seventh. In 2021, I won a bronze medal at the Dubai World Cup. I've proven myself everywhere, but it feels incomplete without a Paralympic medal,” she said.