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Paris Paralympics gold medalist para-athlete Sumit Antil dedicated his historic gold medal at the recently concluded marquee event to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi interacted with para-athletes following their historic Paris Paralympics campaign at his residence 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital on Thursday. Speaking to PM Modi during the meeting, Antil said, "This is my second consecutive Paralympics Gold Medal. After Tokyo, I promised you to get two more golds. This one is for you. On behalf of my whole team, I thank you...When I talked to you on August 20 (before the Paralympics), I remembered those moments after the Tokyo win and told myself to do well." https://x.com/ANI/status/1834440317590012322 Indian javelin throw ace Sumit Antil became the first Indian male to defend their Paralympics title, making it back-to-back gold in the F64 event with a stunning Paralympic record-breaking throw of 70.59 m. He broke his own previous record set during the Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse, and Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Devendra Jhajharia were also present during the meeting. PM Modi interacted with Paralympians who represented India in the recently concluded para multi-sport event. During the meeting, Paralympic gold medallist Avani Lekhara gifted the Prime Minister a signed Indian jersey. The Indian contingent concluded its Paralympics campaign in Paris on Sunday with a record haul of 29 medals, including seven golds, nine silvers, and 13 bronzes. The 29-medal tally is the most by India in the history of the Paralympics. Following the conclusion of the landmark campaign, India surpassed its record medal tally of 19, which was achieved at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. India ended the marquee event in the 18th position. India rewrote several records and unlocked some new "firsts" at the Paralympic Games. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first ever Indian woman to secure two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to defend her women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points. India recorded a one-two finish at a para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Parnav Soorma clinching gold and silver, respectively, in the men's club throw F51 event. This was among India's first-ever medals in this sport. Dharambir also set an Asian record of 34.92 m. In the T64 high jump event, Praveen Kumar stood at the top of the podium with an Asian record-breaking jump of 2.08 m, landing India their sixth gold. India finished the competition with seven gold medals. India also found its first-ever archery champion across the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh getting the gold in the individual recurve para-archery against Poland's Lukasz Ciszek. (ANI)
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