After an Epilepsy Diagnosis at 19, This National Sprinter Came Back & Broke Her Personal Best |
The track feels predictable to Devaki Dhar.
The grip of spikes on rubber.
The steady tension of the starting blocks.
The straight, measurable distance to the finish line.
For the Delhi-based national sprinter, this order brings comfort. On the track, effort follows rules. Outcomes feel earned. Control feels possible.
That sense of control disappeared a year ago.
At 19, while competing at the national level, Devaki was diagnosed with epilepsy. For someone whose life revolved around precision and discipline, the diagnosis felt like a breakdown of a system she had trusted for years.
“I didn’t panic,” she says. “Everything just froze.”
Devaki’s relationship with sprinting never came easily.
Her first race, a 100-metre dash at a school sports day, ended with her finishing sixth out of seven. “That was definitely not a future sprinter moment,” she says, laughing. “But something about running stayed with me.”
That something kept pulling her back. She joined an academy. She showed up again the next day, and the day after that. Years passed this way. Eight or nine of them.
Slowly, the track became more than routine. “It’s my life,” she says. “It’s how I understand myself.”
Earlier in her career, Devaki competed in both the 100 metres and the 200 metres. Over the last few years, however, she has focused exclusively on the 100 metres. In the upcoming season, her primary events will be the 60 metres and the 100 metres, with the 60 m set to be her season opener.
Outside sport, Devaki describes herself as driven, stubborn, and curious. She enjoys travelling, discovering new places, and good coffee. Movement shaped her days, on and off the track, until late 2024, when her body began sending unfamiliar signals.
Devaki last competed in November 2024. Around that time, she began experiencing a persistent sense of unease she could not explain.
Medical appointments followed. During one visit, her mother was called into the doctor’s room alone, while Devaki was asked to wait outside.
“That’s when I realised........