Prime Minister Narendra Modi met India’s trailblazing Paralympians at his residence on Thursday to congratulate them for their record-smashing haul of 29 medals at the recently-concluded Paris Games. In a 43-second video shared by the sports ministry, the PM can be seen congratulating the medal winners before an interaction with them. Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) head Devendra Jhajharia were also present during this interaction.
Wheelchair-bound shooter Avani Lekhara, who won a second successive Paralympic gold in women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) and visually-impaired judoka Kapil Parmar, India’s first Paralympic medal-winner in the sport, were among those who were seen posing with the PM. Parmar could be seen getting his medal signed by PM Modi.
The Prime Minister on Instagram posted a video of his meeting with star javelin thrower Navdeep Singh, who clinched gold medal in the F41 classification at the Paris Paralympics 2024.
During the meeting, Navdeep requested PM Modi that he wanted to put a cap on the Prime Minister’s head. The duo then shared a heartwarming moment as PM Modi sat down to let Navdeep fulfil his wish.
“Main yahan baithta hun, tum pehnao. (I am sitting here, you put the cap on my head).
“Lag raha hain na tum bade ho (Don’t you get a feeling that you are taller/bigger)?” PM Modi said while shaking hands with Navdeep. The athlete smiled back in response.
Navdeep’s aggression after his every attempt at the javelin final became a talking point. His energy was even compared to that of star India cricketer Virat Kohli.
“Baad mein itna gussa kaise karte ho (Why do you get so much angry after the throw)?” asked PM Modi.
Navdeep replied: “Sir, last time I came fourth. This time I had promised you and I have done it (won the medal).”
India gave its best-ever performance in the Paralympic Games by winning 29 medals, including an unprecedented seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals.
The 84-strong contingent surpassed the previous best of 19 medals that was achieved in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
The stupendous performance included many firsts such as medals in track events of athletics, and a gold in archery (through Harvinder Singh).
Since returning to the country, the Paralympians have been feted by the government with sports minister Mandaviya handing out Rs 75 lakh to the gold-medallists, Rs 50 lakh to the silver winners and Rs 30 lakh to the athletes who bagged bronze in the Games.
Those excelling in mixed teams events, like armless archer Sheetal Devi, who won a bronze along with Rakesh Kumar, got richer by Rs 22.5 lakh.
(With PTI Inputs)
