Payal Baraiya, 25, resident of a small coastal village in Bhavnagar, has made proud Gujarat and India by winning gold at the Cambodia International Paralympic Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She won gold in the 100-meter race and silver in the 200-meter race. Despite this, she has received no assistance or recognition from the government or anyone else.
Payal, who has a disability in her left leg and must wear a 4 kg boot, is determined to pursue her dream of becoming a sportsperson. Payal lives in Bhavnagar’s Kuda village, where her father works as a diamond polisher and her mother works at an Anganwadi. Payal, who also has a younger brother, spent Rs. 60,000 of her own money to attend the event, which took place from March 15 to 17 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Cambodia. Payal was chosen to travel to Cambodia after winning gold at the fifth National Divyangjan Games in New Delhi, and she arrived on March 13.
Payal, who has been disabled since birth, began running because her school was two kilometres away. She used to walk but started running to save time.
She tried several other sports but was unable to adapt due to her disability and low weight (she weighs only 38 kg).