{{short description|Indian para sprinter}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox sportsperson | honorific_prefix = | name = Jayanti Behera | image = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|6|11|df=y}} | birth_place = Sakhigopal, Puri, Odisha India | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = Indian | height = {{convert|150|cm}} | weight = {{convert|40|kg}} | website = | country = India | sport = Track & field | event = 200m, 400m, 800m | disability = Burn contracture of left elbow & claw left hand with non-functional fingers | disability_class = T-47 | club = | team = | turnedpro = | coach = | retired = | coaching = Bishnu Prasad Mishra | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | olympics = | paralympics = | highestranking = | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Women's Track & Field}} {{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}} {{MedalCompetition|World Junior Championships}} {{MedalGold|2017 Nottwil|400m T47}} {{MedalSilver|2017 Nottwil|200m T47}} {{MedalCompetition|Asian Para Games}} {{MedalBronze|2018 Jakarta|200m T45/46/47}} {{MedalCompetition|National Championships}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.paralympicindia.org.in/athletics/category/results/3|title=Results – Paralympic Committee of India|last=Codingest|website=paralympicindia.org.in}}</ref> {{MedalGold|2018 Panchkula|100m T47}} {{MedalGold|2018 Panchkula|200m T47}} {{MedalGold|2018 Panchkula|400m T47}} }}
'''Jayanti Behera''' (born 11 June 1999) is a track & field paralympic athlete who represents India in the Women's 200m, 400m, and 800m event. She is a world youth champion in the TR 400m event and she has also won the gold medal at the recent National Para Athletics Championships 2018 in Panchkula.<ref>{{Cite web |title=18th National Para Athletic Championship – Panchkula – Paralympic Committee of India |url=https://www.paralympicindia.org.in/athletics/post/18th-national-para-athletic-championship-panchkula/3 |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=paralympicindia.org.in}}</ref> She is supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.
== Childhood and early life == Jayanti Behera was born on 11 June 1999<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indusind.com/content/forsports/programmes/para-champions/jayanti-behera.html|title=JAYANTI BEHERA|website=IndusInd for sports}}</ref> in a poor family in Manitilasahi village under Sakhigopal of Puri district of Odisha, India. Her mother, Ashamani is a housewife and her father, Kunja Behera works as a daily laborer in coconut plantations of Sakhigopal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2019/aug/24/guts-and-gumption-odisha-para-athlete-sprints-past-obstacles-to-become-world-champ-2023785.html|title=Guts and gumption: Odisha para-athlete sprints past obstacles to become world champ|date=24 August 2019|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref> She is the youngest among her three siblings and studied in Sri Ram Chandrapur High School in Sakhigopal.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
=== Injury === Jayanti Behera was just one year old when she accidentally fell into a brick kiln lit with fire. Though her mother noticed and dragged her out immediately, the mishap left her with severe second degree burns on the left side of her upper body and a burn contracture on left elbow and non functional fingers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indusind.com/content/forsports/programmes/para-champions/jayanti-behera.html|title=JAYANTI BEHERA|website=IndusInd For Sports}}</ref>
Jayanti would watch students run around and play at school and decided to take up sprinting as a sport in class VII even though it was a painful experience for her. Her skills were noticed by her coach Bishnu Prasad Mishra during a school athletic meet in which she won the first prize. Mishra brought her to his Gurukul Athletic Training Centre at Sakhigopal and started training her for athletics free of cost as Jayanti's family was unable to afford her coaching and nutrition.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
== Career == Jayanti won a gold medal in 400m and silver in 800m at the 66th Odisha State Athletics Meet held at Cuttack in December 2018. She bagged a double by winning gold medals in U-20 girls' 400m and 800m events of the 65th Odisha State Athletics Championship held at Cuttack in December 2017. She also bagged a double by winning titles in U-20 girls' 800m and 1500m events of the 63rd Odisha State Athletics Meet held at Cuttack in December 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://orisports.com/PersonDetails.aspx?pId=MTc4Mg==|title=Personalities|website=orisports}}</ref> Jayanti won three gold medals at the 16th Para-athletics National Championship at Panchkula, Haryana in 2016. Jayanti had participated in the Under-20 and Under-18 sprinting events in the State athletic meets at Cuttack in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and grabbed gold and silver medals in 100m, 200m and 400m events.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2019/aug/24/guts-and-gumption-odisha-para-athlete-sprints-past-obstacles-to-become-world-champ-2023785.html|title=Guts and gumption: Odisha para-athlete sprints past obstacles to become world champ|date=24 August 2019|work=The New Indian Express}}</ref>
=== International representation === Jayanti Behera won a silver and a bronze medal in women's 400m (with a timing of 59.71 seconds) and 200m (with a timing of 27.45 seconds)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.orissapost.com/jayanti-silver-lining/|title=Jayanti Silver lining|date=11 October 2018|work=Orissa Post}}</ref> T45/46/47 events respectively at 3rd Asian Para Games, held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 2019 |title=Guts and gumption: Odisha para-athlete sprints past obstacles to become world champ |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2019/Aug/24/guts-and-gumption-odisha-para-athlete-sprints-past-obstacles-to-become-world-champ-2023785.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327185337/https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2019/Aug/24/guts-and-gumption-odisha-para-athlete-sprints-past-obstacles-to-become-world-champ-2023785.html |archive-date=27 March 2023 |access-date=10 August 2024 |work=The New Indian Express}}</ref> She bagged a gold medal in T42-T47 400m and silver in 200m events of the World Junior Para Athletics Championships held at Nottwil, Switzerland in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/document/170815094945492_World+Para+Athletics+Junior+Championships+Notwill+2017+-+Results+Book++Medal+Table.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=10 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811195042/https://www.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/document/170815094945492_World+Para+Athletics+Junior+Championships+Notwill+2017+-+Results+Book++Medal+Table.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She also won one gold in 400m and one silver in 200m events of the China Open Para Athletics Grand Prix Championships held from 13 to 15 May 2017 and registered the qualifying mark for the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.
Jayanti represented India at the World Senior Para Athletics Championships held at London in July 2017 where she was the youngest competitor at 17 and finished sixth in 400m event. She won a silver medal in a 100m race at Asian Youth Para games-2017 in Dubai with clocking a timing of 13.48 seconds.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://kalingatv.com/state/odia-para-athlete-jayanti-behera-bags-silver-asian-youth-para-games/|title=Odia Para Athlete Jayanti Behera Bags Silver in Asian Youth Para Games|date=12 December 2017|work=Kalinga TV}}</ref>
=== Recognition === Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, announced a prize of Rs. 10 Lakh for Jayanti for winning bronze medal in 3rd Asian Para Games in 2018. She is supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions programme.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://orisports.com/PersonDetails.aspx?pId=MTc4Mg==|title=PERSONALITIES|website=Orisports}}</ref> She also got cash awards for outstanding sports performance for the year 2016-17: Odisha for securing gold medals in 200m and 800m of the 16th Senior National Para Athletics Championships held at Panchkula in March 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dsysodisha.gov.in/view_cash_award_list_odisha.php?limit=10&page=29|title=Cash award for outstanding sports performance: Odisha|website=Sports and youth services department, Government of Odisha}}{{dead link|date=March 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
== Achievements == ''National Para Athletics Championships'' {| class="sortable wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" ! Year ! Venue ! Event ! Result |- |- |2018 |Cuttack |400m |Gold |- |2018 |Cuttack |800m |Silver |-style="background:#FFE4B5" | align="center" | 2018 | align="left" | Panchkula | align="left" | 100m | style="text-align:left; background:white" | '''Gold''' |- |-style="background:#FFE4B5" | align="center" | 2018 | align="left" | Panchkula | align="left" | 200m | style="text-align:left; background:white" | '''Gold''' |- |-style="background:#FFE4B5" | align="center" | 2018 | align="left" | Panchkula | align="left" | 400m | style="text-align:left; background:white" | '''Gold''' |}
{| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Venue !Event !Result |- |2018 |Jakarta |400m |Silver |- |2018 |Jakarta |200m |Bronze |- |2017 |Switzerland |400m |Gold |- |2017 |Switzerland |200m |Silver |- |2017 |China |400m |Gold |- |2017 |China |200m |Silver |- |2017 |Dubai |100m |Silver |- |2017 |London |400m |6th place |}
== References == {{Reflist}} * {{cite web|url=https://www.indusind.com/content/forsports/programmes/para-champions/jayanti-behera.html|title=Ankur Dhama|website=indusind.com}}
== External links == * {{IPC|jayanti-behera}} * [http://odishatv.in/sports/gold-medallist-odia-para-athlete-jayanti-behera-arrives-in-odisha-215794 Article] * [http://kalingatv.com/latestnews/odia-para-athlete-jayanti-behera-bags-silver-asian-youth-para-games/ Para games]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Behera, Jayanti}} Category:Living people Category:1999 births Category:Indian women sprinters Category:Athletes from Odisha Category:Sportswomen from Odisha Category:People from Puri district Category:Paralympic athletes for India Category:Sprinters with limb difference Category:Sportswomen with disabilities Category:Medalists at the 2018 Asian Para Games Category:Asian Para Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Category:Asian Para Games bronze medalists for India Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Para Games