Neerukonda(Guntur district): SRM University-AP honoured the accomplishments of its student and Paris Paralympian Deepthi Jeevanji, who is also a recipient of the Arjuna Award this year.

Deepthi, a student of commerce at the Paari School of Business represented India at the Paris Paralympics 2024 in the 400 metres T20 event and secured a bronze medal, becoming the first intellectually impaired Indian athlete to win a Paralympic medal.

The felicitation ceremony featured Vice-Chancellor Prof Manoj K Arora, Registrar Dr R Premkumar, Director (Campus Life) and Director in-charge of Sports Anup Singh Suryavanshi and former IIT Madras faculty Prof N Siva Prasad who presented Deepthi with award cheques of Rs 25 lakh for her Paralympic success and an additional Rs 15 lakh for winning the Arjuna Award.

The event served as a platform to encourage aspiring students to pursue sports and consider it as a career option. During the ceremony, Deepthi expressed her gratitude, stating, “It is an immense honour to represent my country on such a prestigious global platform. The support from the management, staff, and my teachers at SRM University-AP played a crucial role in helping me achieve success.”

The Vice-Chancellor stated, “We are proud of her achievement and hope she participates in the next Paralympics too, bringing gold to the country.”

Registrar Dr R Premkumar acknowledged Deepthi’s remarkable accomplishment and expressed pride in her historic success.

Anup Singh Suryavanshi mentioned in the press meeting that followed, SRM University-AP has allocated Rs 70 lakh to encourage its high-performing students in sports.

The felicitation event also saw the announcements of the university’s upcoming National-Level Sports Fest, UDGAM-2025 which will see participation from over 3,200 students from across the country. Arjuna Awardee Deepthi unveiled the event brochure.