Asian Para Games: Alphia James wins historic bronze, makes wheelchair badminton history for India

NAGOYA: Malayali para-athlete Alphia James has made history by winning a bronze medal in wheelchair badminton at the fifth Asian Para Games, securing India’s first-ever medal in the discipline.

Alphia won the medal in the doubles event, partnering Pallavi Kaluvehalli. The Indian pair lost 3-21, 9-21 to China’s Xu Tingting and Yang Fan in the semifinals. Reaching the semifinals assured the Indian pair of a bronze medal.

Speaking to a Malayalam media outlet, Alphia said she was happy to have been part of the historic achievement.

“This is a second life given to me by God. When I fell from a building, I thought my life was over. The belief that I had been given another chance at life to achieve something great has kept me moving forward,” she said.

Alphia also said she had appealed to the government to extend the same consideration given to Asian Games medal winners to medal winners at the Asian Para Games.

A native of Piramadam in Muvattupuzha, Alphia was paralysed from the waist down after falling from the fourth floor of a hostel building at the age of 17. A former basketball player, she turned to para sports following the accident. She initially took up powerlifting before switching to badminton.