Introduction

Malathi Krishnamurthy Holla is an International para athlete from India. She was awarded Arjuna award and Padma Shri for her achievements. Malathi Krishnamurthy Holla, who despite undergoing 33 surgeries and many setbacks in her life, never gave up and won over 389 golds, 27 silvers and 5 bronzes at national and international events, most of them on a rented wheelchair. She is still the fastest female Indian athlete on a wheelchair. 

Childhood

Malathi Krishnamurthy Holla was born on 6 July 1958 in Bangalore to a middle class family. Her father ran a small hotel in rural Bangalore. Born a healthy child, Malathi was struck with tragedy when she was just a year old. Malathi was left paralysed neck down by a raging fever. Electric shock treatment for more than two years on infant Malathi helped improve her upper body strength but there was little change below that. A very challenging destiny awaited Malathi. Malathi's parents continued efforts to bring life to Malathi's lower body. After 2 years of shock therapies, her parents had no choice but to hand her over to orthopaedic center in Chennai with hopes of reviving her lower body. The center was going to be the new home of Malathi for next 15 years, away from the comfort and warmth of a home with parents. But this was a place which was different from the usual outside world. It was a place where she will grow up with people having disabilities around her. Most of the children around her were from poor families, left by parents to never come back. For the next 15 years, Malathi's life was punctuated with surgery after surgery. Pain, surgeries and medical procedures was a routine at the center. The center was were she also studied and exercised hard to gain body strength. Going through all of this, Malathi slowly and steadily gained mental as well as physical strength and got used to the physical pains and mental trauma in her life. Over her life, Malathi would undergo over 32 surgeries. During this time Malathi made sports her passion, a therapy she pursued to find solace and freedom from her everyday pain. To Malathi's credit, she fought on and never backed out with dispair at any time during all these years. But life was to throw another challenge for Malathi. It was a fight that every disabled person in India has to fight. Coming back home after 15 years at the center, Malathi was now out of her comfort zone – in a society which looked down on disabled people. As she recalls, the biggest trauma of being a handicapped is the inferiority complex that creeps in. That is what hurts the most. But her passion for sports gave her the confidence and strength to fight along with her disability. 

Haul of gold!

Malathi joined Maharani College in Bangalore where she continued with her passion for competitive sports. She trained hard, even though she didn’t have the most important piece of equipment needed by a disabled athlete – a racing wheelchair! Her strength and confidence saw her sail through all sports levels upto nationals where she continued to dominate sports for the handicapped. Starting 1975, she won many national medals. What was astonishing that Malathi excelled in multiple field level athletic events like shot put, discus, javelin, wheelchair race and obstacle race. Taken notice by authorities, she was given a clerical post by Syndicate Bank in 1981. It was only in 1988, that Malathi took part in her first international competition - Para-Olympics at Seoul. While other foreign atheletes who took part had personal coaches with them, Malathi was all on her own. Malathi saw first-hand the difference which a personal coach could make to performance. Not to give up in dispair, Malathi picked up cassettes and recordings of training by professionals and started to train accordingly. The result were soon to be seen. In a year's time, she began winning medals internationally. At the 1989 World Masters' Games in Denmark, she won gold in 200m, shot put, discus, and javelin throw. She was now an international champion and she continued hauling gold for India. After Seoul, Malathi has represented India at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Athens and Beijing; and the Asian Games in Beijing, Bangkok, South Korea and Kuala Lumpur. In all, Malathi has own 389 gold, 27 silvers and 5 bronzes at national and international events in her career, mostly on a rented racing wheel-chair! While many may not know her today, Malathi has been an inspiration for a entire generation of disabled persons and continues to inspire others to rise above their physical limits. This thought spurred her to start Mathru Foundation for physically disabled children in 2002 which she runs even today. 

Awards & Recognitions.

Malathi, with her spirit, confidence and determination broke new grounds for disabled atheletes in India during her time. She championed for disabled atheletes be recognised for the Arjuna award and was also finaly confered with one in year 1995. She also received KK Birla Award and Eklavya Award from the Karnataka Government in 1995 and was named Woman of the Year, 1999 by American Biographical Institute, USA. In the same year, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, UK, also named her International Woman of the Year. Malathi became the first disabled person to receive the Padma Shri Award in year 2001. In 2009, a biography 'A Different Spirit' was released on her life. 

Top Quotes:

“I don’t think I am a disabled person. Of course, I am disabled physically. But that is just one part of my body. My self-confidence is not paralyzed” “I believe in reinventing myself and learning new things everyday. The only disability in someone can be an inferiority complex.” “I took up sports and decided to do something different in life. Yes, we are different and so even our lives should be a shining example of that difference.” "We don't need any sympathy, rather we need empathy from society to prove our mettle," Malathi's spirit, determination and passion to excel will continue to inspire countless others. It is nothing less than a miracle that a person with neck down paralysis, having gone over 32 surgeries, wins over 400 medals and the goes out to win one of the highest honours for any civilian. She has proved that the only disability is a person's inferiority complex and self-confidence. 

📜Conclusion:-

Never Forever, Give Up..!!!