The entire nation is proud of Vidisha Baliyan! Hailing from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, the 21-year-old girl was crowned the Miss Deaf World pageant and in fact became the first Indian to win this prestigious title. Let’s take a moment to congratulate her.
Vidisha Baliyan was eventually chosen the winner among 11 finalists from 16 participating countries in the final. Currently, Baliyan’s family lives in Ghaziabad. Baliyan was trained for the pageant contest in Gurugram and Noida.
For the unversed, she is a former international tennis player and has also represented India in the Deaflympics. She took part in the beauty pageant in the wake of a severe back injury. How many of us know that she even won a silver medal at the international deaf Olympics in the Tennis event.
“I was inspired to participate in the pageant to gain confidence and develop my personality. Through this platform, I also want to motivate the deaf community to focus on the talent they have, and not be upset about what they don’t have,” she said.
Baliyan did her bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and was always passionate about choosing sports as her career. Baliyan has 100% hearing impairment in her right ear and 90% in the left ear, but she can decode what others talk by lip-reading and then she communicates.
She had also won Miss Deaf India title on February 2019 and has been training since April by India’s first female Paralympic winner, Deepa Malik, and her team, to take part in the international contest.
After Baliyan clinched the crown, she said, “I’m grateful to Deepa Mallik for mentoring me and for providing access to all resources.” An NGO which is operated by Malik’s daughter, Devika, also assisted Baliyan during her training.