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Nishtha Dudeja on winning Miss Deaf Asia 2018, partnering with Pinkathon and her secret to success
From being an international-level tennis player to clinching the title of Miss Deaf Asia, this is Nishtha Dudeja’s story.
It’s hard being a woman in India. Being a woman with impairment is even tougher. But spend five minutes with Nishtha Dudeja, and you’ll realise that even 100% hearing loss is not a disadvantage if don’t let it be one.
Crowned Miss Deaf Asia 2018, Nishtha is the first Indian ever to win a title at the international pageant. But it’s not just this feat which is her crowning glory. An accomplished lawn tennis player, she also represented India at the World Deaf Tennis Championship in 2015 and Deaflympics in 2013 and 2017, after which she retired due to a jaw injury.
And now, she is partnering with Pinkathon—India’s biggest running event for women—which she will also participate in, come the 8th of September.
But what gave Nishtha the confidence to keep moving forward despite the adversities that come with profound hearing loss and an international tennis career cut short? “My parents,” she says, rather humbly.
A normal childhood
“I was born with a hearing problem, but my parents didn’t know about it. They only discovered it when I was three years old and were heartbroken. Nonetheless, they decided to raise me like a normal child,” says Nishtha.
“They sent me to a regular school and told me that the only difference between me and everyone else was that I needed a hearing aid to listen to what they were saying. They encouraged me to interact with my classmates and concentrate on my studies, assuring me that my impaired hearing won’t be a problem,” she adds.
But kids can be mean. Being bullied and poked fun at were the realities of Nishtha’s school life—ones that her parents had prepared her for. “Whenever somebody used to make fun of me at school, I would ignore them,” she says. “When they would try to take out my machine I would scold them and even beat them up. But I never told my parents of the problems I was facing at school. I would sort them out by myself,” she says proudly.
Clinching the Miss Deaf Asia title
Growing up, Nishtha envisioned the life of a government officer for herself—just like her father. A top official at Indian Railways, Ved Prakash Dudeja is undoubtedly his daughter’s biggest supporter as he accompanies Nishtha on many professional engagements. But he maintains he isn’t his daughter’s crutch—otherwise she wouldn’t live alone in Mumbai to pursue her masters in economics from Mithibai College of Arts and would have stayed in Delhi with her parents instead.
In fact, this zeal to constantly move forward in life boldly has been instilled in Nishtha by her parents who support her every decision. “My mother encouraged me to take up judo when I was a kid so that I could channel my energy somewhere. I did that for five years, after which I told my parents that I wanted to try my hand at tennis,” she says.
Tennis might have come into Nishtha’s life as a hobby, but soon it took her to new heights as she began participating in international tournaments. While the jaw injury did put a dampener on her tennis career, Nishtha knew what she wanted to do next.
“After my tennis stint, I told my parents that I wanted to participate in Miss Deaf India. They had their apprehensions, but I was insistent because I knew it would be a learning ground for me and equip me with a different kind of confidence. They agreed, and here we are!” she says.
Family—Nishtha’s secret to success
“My family has had a very important role to play in my success,” she says. “Had my family thought about what other people will say about their deaf daughter and hadn’t supported me, I wouldn’t be here.”
It is indeed her family that is to be credited for the inspiring woman Nishtha is—a woman who captivates a room with just her sheer presence, and commands a standing ovation each time she narrates her story with her head held high and an assured smile.
