Devendra Jhajharia

Devendra Jhajharia is a leading Indian Paralympian, who made headlines after he became the first Indian athlete to claim two Gold medals at the Paralympic Games. Representing India in a variety of athletics competitions, competing in javelin, Devendra has done his country proud and even claimed World Records for his throwing skills. With an ever-growing medal tally to his name, Devendra is now booked as a Paralympics speaker for corporate events to inspire future parathletes.

At just eight years of age, Devendra was involved in a tragic accident that caused him to lose his hand. Having touched a live electric cable whilst climbing a tree, Devendra was electrocuted and doctors were left with no choice but to amputate his left hand. Despite such adversity, Devendra is a figure of great inspiration who has striven against adversity to achieve greatness. In 1997 whilst competing in a school sports day, Devendra was spotted by esteemed coach R.D. Singh, who has coached him ever since that day. Since being spotted, Devendra has gone on to claim Gold at the 2002 FESPIC Games, Gold at the 2016 Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship and Gold at the 2013 IPC World Championships.

With a medal tally that is ever-increasing, Devendra has also won Silver at the 2014 Asian Para Games and Silver at the 2015 IPC World Championships. Devendra has also twice broken the World Record in the javelin, having achieved a distance of 63.97m. In 2004, he was first given the honour of representing India at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, where he achieved Paralympic Gold in the F46 Javelin. 12 years later, Devendra returned to the Paralympics, representing India at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and claiming Paralympic Gold in the F44/46 Javelin. Supported by the GoSports Foundation, Devendra proves his country proud time and time again.

An inspirational para-athlete, Devendra has earned his impressive medal tally with perseverance and determination. Having overcome adversity to reach the top level of elite sport, Devendra is now booked as a Paralympic speaker to inspire other disabled athletes to push past adversity and show what they are truly capable of. Having claimed Paralympic Golds and broken World Records, Devendra is a formidable athlete on the javelin field and has also been recognised as the FICCI Para-Sportsperson of the Year 2014 and with the 2004 Arjuna Award. When looking for an inspirational Paralympian to speak at your event, look no further than Devendra Jhajharia.