I had the privilege to virtually meet and interview Priyesha Deshmukh along with her fellow shooter Dhanush Srikanth; Gold medal winner mixed match in 10-meter air rifle shooting - in 2022 Deaflympics, recently held at Caxias do Sul in Brazil.[start-read-more more="Read More" less="Read Less" inline=false ellipsis=true]
Priyesha is a special sportsperson… Here is her story…
She is profound deaf, requires a very special hearing aid to hear little bit and understand others by lip reading. She was raised by her grandmother Pramila Deshmukh and her father Sharad Deshmukh since her childhood.
She joined a weeklong training of rifle shooting out of curiosity in her 9th standard and then undertook shooting as a sport few years later. She has won 7 gold medals at national level in differently abled category, 1 silver medal at national level in open category. She is also a national record holder in differently abled category. She then won bronze medal in the first world deaf shooting championship held in Kazan, Russia. She was the finalist (Rank 6) in deaf Olympics in 2017 in Samsun, Turkey.
Then covid struck … She couldn’t practice for almost a year and a half! she was feeling lost without the rifle in her hand, and she missed her daily practice at the shooting range!
As if it was not enough, 6 months ago – her dear grandma passed away. She was totally devastated…
It took her several weeks to come to the terms and accept the reality…
Winning a medal in Deaflympics at Brazil must be a great tribute to her grandma! She didn’t lose her courage; her willpower became stronger than ever! Encouraged by her coach Anjali Bhagwat and very well supported by her father; she practiced hard …
Then came the day, when she was selected to represent India in Deaflympics 2022, in Brazil. She was elated! Her focus was to get medal in individual category. With hopes and prayers of all well-wishers, strong support by her coach and ever strong support by her father, she reached the finals!
But – Ohhh! … she came 4th in the finals, she missed her bronze medal by a whisker… Everyone around her was slightly disappointed – but not Priyesha! She kept her focus, had faith in herself! One more tournament – mixed match with her fellow shooter - Dhanush Srikanth was still couple of days away!
With sparkle in her eyes, strong desire to pay tribute to her grandma and bring pride to the nation made her more determined to conquer the mixed match.
And…. She did it! Priyesha won the GOLD medal with her fellow shooter Dhanush! A proud moment for her, for her coach, for her father and billions of Indians! An absolute tribute to her grandma!
Her photograph with her smile, proudly showing her GOLD medal and Tricolour on the top, is winning hearts of every Indian! There was a great media coverage on her achievement and on her return she was received at the airport with great fanfare!
Now - the climax! She will be meeting Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the 21st morning along with the contingent and medal winners! A proud moment! I am sure she will cherish throughout her life!
Priyesha is grateful to her Coach Anjali Bhagwat, Sandip Tarte, The Abhinav Bindra Foundation, Dr Rasik Pawaskar, Dr Anand Nadkarni, Dr Ravi Pendkar, Sunandan Lele, Geeta Gohad Auradkar, and Geetanjali Malve for the support she has received.
Remember - all of us have talent within us, let it be any area! With the help of the Coach and support from family, friends, and well-wishers; all of us can achieve unthinkable… If Priyesha CAN DO IT – SO CAN YOU!
Join me in congratulating Priyesha on her glorious achievements!