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Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy felicitated the state's young athlete, Deepthi Jeevanji, who won a bronze medal in the Women's 400m T20 event at her Paralympics debut in Paris.
On this occasion, Chief Minister Reddy announced a cash prize of Rs 1 crore, a 500-yard plot in Warangal, and a Group 2 job in the state government for Deepthi. He also announced a Rs 10 lakh cash prize for her coach, Nagpuri Ramesh. Taking to the social media platform X, CM Reddy said, "Deepti Jeevanji, the young athlete who won a bronze medal in the Paralympics and brought glory to Telangana, was met with courtesy." "Apart from congratulating her on this occasion, I ordered the officials to take steps to give the Group-2 job, Rs one crore cash prize, 500 yards' land in Warangal and Rs.10 lakhs to the coach on behalf of the state government," he added. On Thursday, September 5, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, felicitated the members of the Indian Para-athletics contingent on their triumphant return to India after their outstanding performances at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. The Union Minister felicitated the athletes, coaches, and support staff during the ceremony. Addressing the contingent, Mandaviya expressed his admiration and appreciation for their remarkable achievements. Among those present were athlete Deepthi Jeevanji, who won bronze in the Women's 400m T20 category on her Paralympic debut, and her fellow debutant athletes: Ravi Rongali (Men's Shotput F40), Rakshita Raju (Women's 1500m T11), Kanchan Lakhani (Women's Discus Throw F53), Sakshi Kasana (Women's Discus Throw F55), and Manu (Men's Shotput F37), along with their coaches Rahul Balakrishna, Suresh Kumar Kuruba, Sunil Lakhani, and their escorts. Notably, Jeevanji won the bronze medal in the Women's 400m T20 final on her debut at the ongoing Paralympics. The 21-year-old was quick off the blocks but fell short in the final phase of the race, finishing behind Ukraine's Yuliia Shuliar and Turkey's Aysel Onder in Paris. In a race that was decided by the narrowest of margins, Deepthi clocked 55.82 seconds to add a bronze to India's ever-growing medal tally. Yuliia claimed the gold with a timing of 55.16 seconds, while Aysel secured silver with a timing of 55.23 seconds. Deepthi had made her way into the final with a sensational run in the qualification round, finishing first in her Women's 400m T20 Round 1 heat with a time of 55.45 seconds. Ukraine's Yuliia Shuliar clocked her season-best time of 56.49 seconds to secure the second spot and qualify for the final. Brazil's Antonia Keyla Da Silva Barros also produced her season's best performance, finishing third and qualifying for the final with a time of 57.54 seconds. Deepthi, whose talent was discovered by SAI coach N Ramesh in Hyderabad, started her para-athletics journey in 2019. She has been a Khelo India athlete since 2018 and is now a TOPS athlete. In a short period, she has won many international competitions, including a God Medal at the Asian Para Games and a Gold Medal at the 2024 World Championship, where she broke the world record. In the domestic circuit, she made a mark by winning two medals at the Khelo India Youth Games in 2020. (ANI)
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