For Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegic Jeetu Kanwar Why Nothing Is Impossible

Every athlete in the just-concluded Khelo India Para Games in Delhi was unique. Their ability to rise above physical and mental challenges exposed their God-gifted special qualities that able-bodied sportspersons can never fathom. Jeetu Kanwar is perhaps extra special. Her life story is simply surreal and just unbelievable. "She has seen a very difficult phase early in life and that has made her a very strong woman today. She has faced all the challenges all by herself and today, she is a self-made woman and an inspiration to the society," said Kavita Suresh, the general secretary of the Cerebral Palsy Sports Federation of India (CPSFI).

A spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy patient, Jeetu Kanwar, now 29, has been facing life's odds ever since she was in her mother's womb. Her form of spastic CP is the severest and it affects the movement of all four limbs, the trunk and the face.

Jeetu's grit and determination was seen at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium last week when she sprinted to the 100m bronze medal in T-35 class. Now she wants to win a medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Jeetu Kanwar was born on June 26, 1994 in a humble family in Khudiyala dhani under Shergarh block of Jodhpur district. The first signs of cerebral palsy were discovered within three hours of Jeetu's birth after she didn't cry even once in the entire period.

Her father Ladu Singh, a senior nursing officer at Primary Health Centre, Nathrau, was as clueless as her mother Rukam Kanwar. Lack of adequate oxygen in Jeetu's developing brain during her mother's pregnancy resulted in problems with all her limb and muscle movements.

"My parents were not well educated. Moneywise also we weren't very strong. My parents and grandparents visited hospitals in