New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met India’s Paralympian players at his residence here and congratulated them for winning a record 29 medals at the recently concluded Paris Games. In a 43-second video shared by the Sports Ministry, the Prime Minister can be seen congratulating and talking to the Paralympian medal winners.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) chief Devendra Jhajhadia were also present during this conversation.
Shooter Avani Lekhara, who won her second consecutive Paralympic gold in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) event, and visually impaired Kapil Parmar, India’s first judo player to win a Paralympic medal, were among those seen posing for a photo with the Prime Minister. Parmar was seen getting his medal signed by Prime Minister Modi.
In an emotional moment, PM Modi sat down on the floor to humbly accept the cap while interacting with javelin thrower Navdeep Singh. Navdeep, who competes in the F41 category due to dwarfism, also got the PM to sign his hand which he uses to throw the javelin. Armless archer Sheetal Devi, who won the bronze medal in the mixed team compound category with Rakesh Kumar in Paris, presented Modi with an autographed jersey. He signed the jersey with his foot.
The players thanked and praised the Prime Minister. Disc throw F56 category silver medalist Yogesh Kathuniya said, “For everyone PM means Prime Minister but for all of us PM means Param Mitra.” India performed its best ever at the Paralympic Games by winning 29 medals, including an unprecedented seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals. India’s 84-member contingent participated in the Paris Games, surpassing the previous best performance of 19 medals achieved at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
During these games, India won its first ever medal in track events in athletics and also its first ever gold medal in archery (through Harvinder Singh). On their return home, the Paralympian players have been felicitated by the government and Sports Minister Mandaviya gave away Rs 75 lakh to gold medal winners, Rs 50 lakh to silver medal winners and Rs 30 lakh to bronze medal winners. Players who won medals in mixed team events like archer Sheetal received an amount of Rs 22.5 lakh.