Ludhiana: City girl secures gold at Nat’l Deaf Sports c’ship
Aishwin’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary; born with a hearing disability, she was diagnosed, at the age of six, with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare and incurable genetic disorder affecting the nervous system
Aishwin Kaur has once again put the city on the national sports map by winning gold at the National Deaf Senior, Junior, and Sub-Junior Sports Championship. The 18-year-old triumphed in the singles category in table tennis, defeating West Bengal’s Megha 4-2 in the final match. The championship, held in Ahmedabad from March 20 to 24, saw some of the country’s top talents in action, but Aishwin’s performance set her apart.
In December last year, at the 10th Asia Pacific Deaf Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she won two medals, silver in the team event and bronze in women’s doubles. She was the only player from Punjab to bring home medals from the championship. Her achievements even earned her a meeting with India’s minister of youth affairs and sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, in New Delhi last year.
Aishwin’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Born with a hearing disability, she was diagnosed, at the age of six, with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare and incurable genetic disorder affecting the nervous system. Doctors had little hope for her survival, but her father, Bikramjit Singh, who works as the state head (audit) in a financial institution, recalls how his daughter defied all expectations. “They said she wouldn’t live long, but her determination has made her a fighter,” he shared.
Her list of accomplishments continues to grow. In July 2023, she secured a silver medal in the team event and two bronze medals in the individual and doubles categories at the 4th World Deaf Table Tennis Championship in Taiwan. Last year, she also won a silver medal in the general category at the Punjab State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in Amritsar, proving that she can compete beyond para-sports and even against top-ranked players.
Despite facing challenges in finding quality training facilities, Aishwin never gave up. She eventually joined an academy in Gurugram, where she trains rigorously for nearly eight hours a day. What makes her journey even more inspiring is that she is the only deaf player among more than 100 athletes training there, all of whom are without disabilities. Her father proudly shared that she receives no special treatment at the academy, which only fuels her determination to compete at the highest level.