Dr. Deepa Malik
Advisory Council
Braving chest-below paralysis and spinal tumour treatment for almost 20 years; Deepa is on a mission – Ability Beyond Disability. She is a recipient of five prestigious President of India Awards including the Padma Shri (fourth highest civilian honour in India) & Arjuna Award (national award for excellence in sports).
She holds four Limca World Records in the Adventure Category, she is the first woman to represent the country at international sports in F-53 category and the first Indian paraplegic woman swimmer, biker and car rallyist.
Deepa was the first Indian female para-athlete to win an Asian Games medal in athletics as well as the first female World Championship medal. She is also India's first female Paralympic Medallist across any sport. She made history by becoming the only Indian woman athlete to win medals at three successive Asian Games and create and retain the Asian Record in javelin throw throughout the years.
With 23 international medals and 68 national and state level medals she has been recognized as the Global Woman of the Year by the International Paralympic Committee.
Deepa contributed to better sports policies for the physically challenged in her role as a member of the Working Group for the Formulation of 12th Five Year Plan (2012 – 2017). She is an expert consultant for Disability Inclusive Accessible Infrastructure for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs ‘Smart Cities’ project. She is a Brand Ambassador of Election Commission of India, helping them to encourage all citizens to vote; specifically the youth, women and people with disabilities.
As the founder of Wheeling Happiness Foundation, she has taken up the cause of enhancing the emotional health of people with challenges and empowering women to live a more self-reliant life through sports, mobility aides and disability advocacy. The Foundation has positively impacted more than 10,000 lives.