From Patient to Paralympian | It’s Never Too Late: Deepa Malik on Reinvention, Resilience & Real Inclusion | SheSparks

“Only those who play the game can win the game. Sitting in the spectators' stand, you are only a cheerleader” says Dr. Deepa Malik, Celebrated Para Athlete, Padma Shri, Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awardee.

But before the medals and the movement, there was a moment when doctors told her she had only seven days to live.

In this episode of UpClose: Road to #SheSparks, we sit down with Dr Deepa Malik to unpack a journey that redefined resilience. From spinal tumour diagnosis to becoming a silver medallist at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

This is not just a story about sport. It’s about identity, stigma, rewriting timelines and choosing possibility over limitation.

We talk about:

• Growing up in an Armed Forces family and how discipline shaped her journey

• The emotional reality of 1999 — diagnosis, surgery, and redefining identity

• Starting sport at 36 and silencing “it’s too late”

• From patient to Paralympic athlete to national advocate

• Challenging taboos around disability, motherhood, and gender

• The historic Rio silver — and what it truly meant

• Leadership beyond medals — reform, clean sport, institutional impact

• Representation vs real inclusion

• Mindset of manifestation, self-belief, and erasing doubt

If you’ve ever felt it’s too late, been defined by someone else’s limitations or stood at the edge of your own fear -this conversation is a masterclass in reinvention and belief.

SheSparks 2026 | March 14th | IIT - Delhi,

Register here: https://events.yourstory.com/shesparks-2026

#SheSparks #UpClose #DeepaMalik #WomenChangemakers #Resilience #Inclusion #DisabilityLeadership #breakingbarriers