PM all praise for Jalandhar's para shuttler Palak Kohli

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 17

A city-based para-shuttler, Palak Kohli, who has qualified for Paralympics starting at Tokyo from August 24 won accolades from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a virtual interaction with her ahead of the event on Tuesday.

All of 19, she is the youngest of the contingent of 54 players going to Tokyo to represent India. Palak has a deformed left hand. Interacting with Palak, he first heard her whole story of reaching to the level and then told her, “Your age is very less but your resolutions are very big. You have converted your disability to super ability.”

The PM even asked her to explain how she came out from her recent ailment, to which Kohli replied, “I suffered bone marrow edema in my left leg calf owing to which I had to stop my training for two months in Lucknow. My coach Gaurav Khanna made me drop some events so that I could recover properly.” Palak will be participating in three events including singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Paralympics. During the 2019 National Para Badminton Championships, she won three gold medals in women’s singles, women’s doubles and under-19 singles (girls).

She even won gold in the women’s doubles in Uganda Para Badminton International, took home a bronze in Japan Para Badminton International.