Despite all challenges and odds, 22-year-old Rakshita Raju, the first Indian athlete with a complete visual impairment, will participate with the world’s top athletes in the Paris Paralympics starting on August 28th. Rakshita will be competing in the Women’s 1500 m T-11 category of the quadrennial event making history as the first Indian athlete to compete in this category at the Paralympic Games. She won gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games and a gold medal in the Women’s 1500m-T11 at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games. She was honored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Hailed from Baluru Gudnalli in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka Rakshita was completely orphaned from childhood. She and her brother were brought up by her aunt and grandmother who has speech and hearing impairment. Rakshita was merely two year old when she lost her mother and her father passed away when she was 10. Inspired by para-athlete Mohammad Shavad at Ashakirana School for the Blind where she studied. Her passion for athletics ignited during her school days under the guidance of her physical education teacher. It was during one of her early competitions that she was introduced to her coach and guide runner, Rahul Balakrishna. Rakshitha Raju said on this milestone: “I am incredibly honoured and excited to represent India at the Paris Paralympics. I have a wish to win a medal in such a mega event. This journey has been filled with challenges, but each step has brought me closer to my dream.”