Paralympics 2021: From polio to podium - Indian para archer Jyoti Baliyan's rise to the top

Jyoti Baliyan is the latest inspiring tale to come to light at the Paralympics. The quadrennial event brings together hundreds of athletes who have refused to bog down against life's adversities and made it to the pinnacle of their sports through grit and character.

The 2021 Paralympic Games brought another such tale of unshakeable courage of para-archer Jyoti Baliyan from India. The 27-year-old has become a reputed name in her sport and is a top medal prospect for India.

Baliyan showed interest in sports from a very young age. She was determined to fulfill her father's dream of seeing her become a professional volleyball player. However, the young girl's dreams were shattered due to a wrongly administered injection to her leg, and she suffered polio at the age of 10. This brought a crushing end to her volleyball career.

Jyoti Baliyan's career in archery

However, Jyoti was resilient in the face of adversity. This mishap did deter her from dreaming for a while. She hesitated in picking up and learning a new sport from scratch but it was her father who managed to convince her.

She moved to her uncle's house, which was closer to the academy, but didn't quite feel at home in the sport and wanted to return home. Jyoti's coach convinced her to give the sport a shot and aim to perform well in the national games which were only a month away.

Much to her surprise, Jyoti ended up as the national games champion. The result was all the motivation that she needed. This was the beginning of her journey and she started training with all her heart. Jyoti's father even took a loan worth one lakh rupees to buy her archery equipment.

Jyoti began making strides in the sport as she won the national games gold medals in 2011 and 2012. These performances allowed her to come into contention for representing India in international competitions.

Since then, Jyoti Balyan has never looked back. She debuted for India at the Asian Games in 2014 where she finished impressively in 9th place. Baliyan later went on to participate, and win, at the world para archery championship in 2017. Jyoti Baliyan also won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Para Championship in the team event.

She has been a constant at international competitions and ranks among the top archers around the globe. She heads into the Paralympic Games 2021 as the world no. 22 in compound archery.

Para-archer Jyoti Baliyan shares her inspiring story of how she overcame the depression of losing her father and now aspires to win a medal in the #Paralympics for the nation, family, and academy. #Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/9NpCgBJsiP

— Arjun Munda (@MundaArjun) August 17, 2021

Winning and losing is secondary. Jyoti Baliyan's participation in the Paralympics is a testament to her fighting spirit and resilient character. When she takes center stage in her events on the 27th of August, Jyoti Baliyan will be motivating and encouraging millions of people back home to never give up and face every challenge head-on.