Kalpana Jena created sporting history, becoming the first cyclist from Odisha to win a medal at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany yesterday. The 19-year-old girl from Athagarh, Cuttack, bagged the silver medal in 2 km time trial event (age group 16-21 years), clocking 5:42.42.

Shivani, also from India won the gold medal with a time of 5:22.41, while Ana Zumbado of Costa Rica claimed the bronze, clocking 5:46.63. Kalpana hails from an economically weaker family from Regedapada village in Athagarh block of Cuttack district. Her father Gadadhar Jena and mother Gitanjali Jena work as agricultural farm labourers.

Kalpana received training in various sports disciplines such as badminton, athletics and floorball in early 2019. Her cycling skills were honed under, Satbir Singh Sahota, multiple-times National cycling champion of India from Jharkhand. Initially, she was trained by local coach and mentor Bibekananda Mohanty.

Before taking to sports, Kalpana used to ride between her house and school since 2017. Often being bullied, especially at the way she speaks, she spent most of her time either in school or at home, helping her mother in house chores, limiting her interaction with others.

In 2017 Kalpana was introduced to Special Olympics through her mentor Mohanty, as part of the regular SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhyan) outreach by the state chapter. After knowing about the achievement of Kalpana, Athagarh MLA and Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain presented her with a racing cycle for practice.

Prakash Rath, Area Director of Special Olympics Bharat Odisha, has found a drastic improvement in the social behaviour and public communication of Kalpana. Now she has grown into a good athlete leader.

Meanwhile, the Indian contingent, featuring seven athletes from Odisha, passed the 50-medal mark at the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin. India now has 55 medals, which include 15 gold, 27 silver 13 bronze, spread across five different sports — athletics, cycling, powerlifting, roller skating and swimming.
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PHOTO: Odisha cyclist Kalpana Jena on her way to silver medal at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany on 21 June 2023.