After 4 brain operations, paralysis, Rajkot paddler shines in national para championship

RAJKOT: She could barely stand, yet refused to use a wheelchair. Her legs would shake, but Dhwani Shah's confidence stayed firm as she went on to win battles in life and across the table-tennis table.
This 26-year-old Rajkot paddler has mastered the art of not ducking the curveballs that health complications keep throwing at her, instead smashing them back. This keeps my hopes strong, Dhwani said, adding, "My dream is to play in the Olympics someday and be a champion, like Dhoni in cricket and Dhwani in TT."
Dhwani secured second position in the para table tennis national championship 2022-23 in Indore in the women's singles event. This is the second time she has participated in a national tournament.
"I never gave up my passion for sports. I am now qualified to play in an international tournament and for that I am collecting funds," said 26-year-old Rajkot paddler Dhwani Shah, whose medical history will leave many awestruck.
Dhwani, who has been suffering from a brain tumour since the age of 7 years, has already undergone four open brain surgeries, of which three were performed before she turned 11.
The fourth surgery, in 2016, to remove the tumour left the entire left side of her body paralysed. She also started getting convulsions.
Her parents, Bhavesh and Kalpna, and grandmother Arunaben, left no stone unturned to find a cure for the child. Between visiting doctors and hospitals in Rajkot and Ahmedabad, they also tried to fulfil whatever Dhwani wanted to achieve, including supporting her passion for sports.
Whenever she is selected to play in any part of the country, the entire family, including her grandmother, travels with her for support and to cheer.
"I was teased by other students in my school and was not allowed to participate in sports as I was not normal like them. However, I never stopped playing and played alone in the GSRTC staff quarters facility. Thereafter, I played in Bal Bhavan too," said Dhawani, who has also participated in the Khel Mahakumbh in the discus throw and shot put events.
Her father Bhavesh, a clerk in GSRTC, said, "I tried everything that I could but no coach is ready to teach my daughter even after charging me fees, for reasons unknown to me. I have now realised that coaches are not interested in teaching disabled people. But my daughter has learned on her own and practised to perfection."
"I wish I knew how to play the game. I would have given coaching to Dhwani," said grandmother Arunaben.
"Dhwani's last surgery was performed in 2016. Before that her brain tumour would develop every two years. Whenever the symptoms started, we would rush her to hospitals for reports. I do not like remembering all those trials, but I want to see my daughter playing in the Olympics," said Kalpana, her mother.