Jerlin Anika Jayaratchagan is an Indian deaf badminton player. In May 2022, she hit the headlines when she won one gold medal each in the team event, mixed doubles event, and womens singles event at the Deaflympics, which were organised at Caxias do Sul in Brazil.When Jerlin Anika was two years old, she was diagnosed with a hearing disability. At the age of 8, Jerlin Anika started playing badminton. In 2016, she participated in the Federation of India School Games and won a silver medal in the U-13 category. During this time, Jerlin Anika was a class 9th student in St. Josephs Girls Higher Secondary School in Tamil Nadu. In a conversation with the media house, her coach, T. Saravanan, stated that Jerlin Anika was a very talented and focused player with good hand-eye coordination. He stated, Jerlin had good hand-eye coordination and was very focused. Talent coupled with hard work was what helped her achieve such great feats. All credits go to her and her determination to win. I was merely a guide. Her coach further added that Jerlin and he communicate with lip reading and gestures. He remembered that in the beginning a few matches in the open category were lost by Jerlin Anika as she experienced anxiety due to the crowd. He further stated that Jerlin practised badminton 8 to 10 hours daily.In 2017, Jerlin Anika participated in the badminton championship in Hyderabad and won the match. In the same year, her performance in the Hyderabad match helped her to participate in the Summer Deaflympics. At the age of 13, Jerlin Anika represented India in the summer Deaflympics and played the womens singles and womens doubles events in Turkey. She was the youngest participant who secured fifth place at the 2017 summer Deaflympics. Jerlin Anika and Prithvi Sekhar became the first athletes from Tamil Nadu to participate in the 2017 Deaflympics.In an interview with a media house, the father of Jerlin Anika stated that in the beginning, it was very hard and costly for them to enrol Jerlin in the national level matches. He added that he received financial help from his family and friends to meet the travel expenses for the national-level matches of badminton. He added, It cost at least Rs 50,000 to take part in a national-level match. Thanks to some friends and family members, we were able to manage. From 2019 onwards, we received financial support from the State government and private companies to meet travel expenses, among others. He further added that Jerlin Anika admired fashion and clothes. He said, The only thing that interests Jerlin other than badminton is fashion and clothes..In 2018, Jerlin Anika participated in the East Asia Pacific Deaf Badminton Championships, which was organised in Malaysia and won two silver medals and a bronze medal. Jerlin Anika participated in the 5th Asia Pacific Deaf Badminton Championships in the senior category in womens doubles, she won a bronze medal. In the same championships, Jerlin Anika clinched the silver medals in singles and doubles events in the U-21 girls category.According to her coach, Jerlin Anikas reaction time to the shuttle hinders her performance on the ground. He stated in a conversation with a media house that Jerlin used this disability to her advantage by not getting distracted by other noises while playing. He said, Normal players would be able to judge the speed of a shot through the sound the shuttle makes when it hits the racket. But, Jerlin had used it to her advantage by not getting distracted to other noises. Jerlin Anika with her coach.In 2019, at the age of 15, during the girls singles final of the World Deaf Youth Badminton Championships, which were organised in Taipei, Jerlin Anika won a gold medal. In this championship, she defeated her opponent Finja Rosendahl from Germany and became a youth deaf world champion. In the same year, Jerlin Anika won the silver medals in girls doubles and mixed doubles events, which were organised at the second edition of the World Deaf Youth Badminton Championships.In September 2021, Jerlin Anika participated in the 24th Summer Deaflympics, which were held at Caxias do Sul in Brazil and won three gold medals in the team event, mixed doubles event, and womens singles event in May 2022. The Indian Deaflympians at Prime Minister Narendra Modis residence in May 2022.In 2021, the HCL Foundation Director Nidhi Pundhir stated in a conversation with the media hows that a scholarship of Rs. 3.25 lakh was granted to Jerlin Anika in an event organised for her in Noida. Pundhir stated that this scholarship would support her in travelling to the Deaflympics. She said, She received a scholarship of Rs 3.25 lakh and we also supported the travel of her coach and father to accompany her for the Deaflympics. We are just happy to play a small role in her success..