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Para-athlete Suvarna Raj, who won gold in the women's discus throw F54 event at the Asian Para Games 2026, on Thursday expressed gratitude to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Taranjit Singh Sandhu for announcing her appointment as Delhi's State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.
Notably, after her gold medal win at the Para Asian Games 2026, Delhi LG Taranjit Singh Sandhu finalised the selection of Suvarna for the post of State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Delhi. The selection was made from a panel of three candidates recommended by the Search-cum-Selection Committee, after the LG's perusal of the minutes of the Committee's meeting and the records of the concerned candidates. Speaking to ANI after an interaction event of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the members of the Indian contingent at the Para Asian Games 2026, Suvarna Raj thanked Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and the LG for announcing her appointment as State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, saying she aims to create new opportunities for persons with disabilities. "When I won a medal on October 22, the Delhi Lt Governor, on October 23, had announced that he is appointing me as Delhis State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. I have not received an appointment letter yet, but I would like to thank Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and LG Sir because in these 3 years I want to do something which would throw open new doors for persons with disabilities in future," she said. She also described her interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an encouraging experience, saying his support further strengthens the willpower of athletes. PM Modi interacted with members of India's Asian Para Games 2026 contingent at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, congratulating the para-athletes on their historic performance in Aichi-Nagoya, where India secured fourth place with a record 114 medals. Speaking to ANI, after the para-athletes interaction with PM Modi, Suvarna Raj described the meeting as an encouraging experience, saying his support strengthened the athletes' determination. She expressed confidence that India would aim to move from fourth to first position at the Asian Para Games within the next 10 years. "It was a great experience. We were so excited. He interacted with us. I also told him that I am a part of Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan). It felt great that he interacted with everyone," she said. When the PM of your country encourages you, your willpower further strengthens. You feel that if he is with you, you too need to do something. From 14 medals in 2014 to 114 medals in 2016 - there is indeed support from him and that is why we could do this. India stood fourth (in the Asian Para Games 2026), we will try to bring it to the first position within next 10 years," she added. (ANI)
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