Dr Dimple Kasana’s life is a testament to resilience, determination, and the belief that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.
Born and raised in Delhi in a family that placed great emphasis on education and self-reliance, Dr Kasana was the first in her family to pursue an MBBS degree.
Her journey took her across the country, from Assam to Jammu, and finally back to Delhi, where she completed her internship at Safdarjung Hospital.
As a Junior Resident in Cardiology and Intensive Care Units (ICU), she built a foundation in clinical medicine, but life had even more unexpected turns in store for her.
After her marriage, she moved to Bengaluru to pursue an MD in Microbiology, a path that led her to win a gold medal in the subject — a surprising and proud achievement for someone who had never planned to go down that road.
“Yeh kahani hain ek gold medal se dusre tak ke safar ki,” (English translation: This story is about one gold medal to another) she says with a smile, reflecting on the many unexpected victories that followed.
Returning to Delhi, Dr Kasana worked at a paramedical hospital before completing her senior residency at Safdarjung. Her career then took a sharp turn when she cleared the UPSC exam and was appointed as Assistant Director of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). Teaching wasn’t originally part of her plan, but when she joined the faculty at Safdarjung, she discovered a deep love for it.
“The OPD patient load was high, and that enriched my experience even more,” she shares, explaining how teaching became a newfound passion.
While her medical career was flourishing, another passion was brewing. Dr. Kasana had been focusing on physical fitness since 2011, participating in marathon groups until COVID-19 disrupted everything. It was a random moment, when her husband showed her a video of an officer’s wife powerlifting, that ignited a spark in her.
“Who knew what started as a hobby would win me accolades and international fame!” she laughs.
Her serendipitous journey into powerlifting took off when she met her future coach — right at Safdarjung Hospital. He taught her the finer points of the sport and encouraged her to participate in the Inter-Ministry Competition, where she won a gold and a silver medal.
The victories kept coming, and soon after, she was appointed Director of the Central Research Institute in Kasauli, a pioneer in vaccine and serum production. “It was destiny,” she says, reflecting on how her path circled back to the institute she had been offered a position at after passing the UPSC exam.
Despite her demanding professional life, Dr. Kasana committed to powerlifting, commuting weekly to Solan for training. In December 2022, she competed in the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand, qualifying by winning four golds in Delhi and four more at the national level in Kerala.
“My first set didn’t go well, and my coach shouted at me,” she recalls, but her perseverance paid off. At 55, she won four golds at the Commonwealth Games, and later, a silver at the Asian Games, all while balancing a demanding career.
Life hasn’t always been easy for Dr Kasana. She has faced personal tragedies, including the loss of a close friend to suicide during her MBBS years, and the humiliation of failing her OBG exam in her final year.
“I felt dejected, but it strengthened me in ways I didn’t understand back then,” she reflects. Through it all, one guiding principle has remained: compassion. “It’s never too late to venture into anything in life as long as you have the will to follow it with all your heart,” she adds.
Dr Dimple Kasana’s journey — from medicine to powerlifting, from gold medals to silver linings — serves as a powerful reminder that with passion and perseverance, the sky truly is the limit.
(This article was curated by the content and digital team at Humans of Medicare: Sudesh Dighulkar, Shreya Gade, Varuni Vats, & Siddhant Kashyap)