Onika Maheshwari/New Delhi

In the narrow lanes of Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti, where echoes of history merge with the noises of modern-day life, lives a 19-year-old girl who has overcome extreme physical limitations and the trauma of a tragedy to become the queen of the shooting range.

This is the story of young para-athlete Adeeba Ali, who is not only a rising star in the world of para-shooting but also an inspiration to many others struggling with self-pity and helplessness.

Adeeba stunned everyone with her stellar performance at the 26th National Shooting Championship held at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy, Bhopal, in December 2023.

Adeeba Ali with her mother

She achieved a double success: winning the gold medal in the 50m Pistol (IPC) Mixed SH1 Junior event with a score of 467, and also a gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol (IPC) Junior Women SH1 event.

Adeeba's success is not just a story of winning two medals; it is a story of perseverance that transformed disability into a new identity, not a hindrance.

As glorious as Adeeba's success story is, the struggle behind it is equally heartbreaking. Five years ago, a tragic accident forever changed the course of her life.

Adeeba with other para athletes

Five years ago, she was looking out from the balcony of her fourth-floor home. Suddenly, she slipped and fell straight to the ground floor. This horrific accident fractured her spine and left her legs without sensation and non-functional.

Her mother, Reshma Ali, becomes emotional recalling that moment. She says the lives of all of them came to a standstill after the accident. "Adiba was bedridden for a year and a half. She had lost all courage, as if all the enthusiasm in life had vanished."

An active and sports-loving girl was confined to a wheelchair, and it was a heartbreaking scene for the family and their relatives.

But Adiba slowly began to pull herself together. Lying in bed, she took to painting and reading, and slowly turned her despair into courage. She even wrote her 12th-grade exams and passed with flying colours. Her passion for knowledge and her focus on painting conjured up images of a bright future for Adiba.

One day, Adeeba saw on the screen of her television Avani Lekhara, the first female player to win a gold medal in shooting in the Paralympics for India.

This was the turning point in her life. At that very moment, she resolved, "If she (Avani Lekhara) can do it, why can't I?"

This question wasn't just a resolution, but a determination to build a new future. Adeeba realised she had to leave her accident behind and move ahead, because she could not live in the past. She knew she had to find a new sport she could play despite her physical limitations.

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Till the fateful day, Adeeba was active in sports like basketball and football. She started thinking about the Para Games, which were meant to give glory to people like her.