International Day Of Sign Languages Celebrates Four Inspiring Achievers From Bhopal
· Free Press Journal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): To mark the International Day of Sign Languages, Free Press brings the inspiring stories of four extraordinary individuals from Bhopal who refused to let hearing and speech impairment define their boundaries.
Through grit, family support and relentless dedication, they have represented India in international sports and created educational avenues for special-needs children. Excerpts:
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Striking gold in taekwondo
Kanishka Sharma (18), a deaf and speech-impaired taekwondo athlete represented India at the Tokyo Deaflympics 2025. She also represented India at 10th Asia Pacific Deaf Games in Malaysia (2024) and earned medals at national-level championships. “We first realised that she can’t speak or hear when she was 2-yr-old,” her father Kapil Sharma said. They admitted her to Asha Niketan Higher Secondary School where she is studying in Class 10 now. “Once we discovered her sporting talent, we decided to encourage her. I closed my photography business to dedicate myself fully to help her realise her full potential. I feel great when I am referred to as Kanishka’s dad,” says Kapil, who is also learning sign language to communicate more effectively with her.
Gold on intn’l badminton court
Living with speech and hearing disabilities, Gauranshi Sharma (19) is a badminton player who won gold at Deaflympics in Brazil (2021), team gold at Summer Deaflympics in Brazil (2022), World Youth Deaf Badminton Championship in Brazil (2023) and a silver medal in Badminton Mixed Team event at 10th Asia-Pacific Deaf Games (2024) in Kuala Lumpur. In November 2025, she represented India at the 25th Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan. She is training under Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Samtoso at Gopichand Badminton Academy, Gwalior, as a day boarder. Gauranshi will participate in Asia Pacific Deaf Championships 2026 to be played in Malaysia from October 3. “We are proud that she did not allow her physical handicaps to come in the way of realising her dreams,” says her mother Preeti Sharma.
Giving voice & vision to deaf
Priti Soni (28) is deaf and so are her parents. Her father worked as a tailor and her mother earned a small income by making rotis for people in her neighbourhood. “I often felt hurt and isolated because I could not communicate freely with people around me,” she said through her daughter Aashi. In 2011, she founded Deaf Can Foundation. “I do not want deaf people to always depend on others to speak on our behalf,” she said. Over the years, she has been invited by organisations and NGOs across India to speak about deaf awareness, accessibility, women's rights, and sign language rights. She was also invited by the World Federation of the Deaf to speak at the Pre-Conference on Gender Equality in Nairobi, Kenya.
Crafting bright future for Divyang children
Madhu Devi Lakhera (36) was born deaf and speech-impaired. Her mother worked for the railways while her father ran a grocery shop. She lost both her parents when she was a teenager. She completed schooling from Asha Niketan and did MA in Fine Arts. Madhu has been teaching at Asha Niketan for 15 years. She teaches art and craft. Through her colleague Pramod Singh Parihar, Madhu said, “I find my job satisfying. I am happy that I am contributing to the education of Divyang children like me,” she said. Madhu expressed concern over the lack of teachers trained in sign languages in the state. “The ideal teacher to student ratio should be 1:10 but in MP it is not even 1:20,” she said.
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