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Indian para-athletes Pranav Soorma, Pradeep Kumar and Tejas Nandakumar expressed happiness over their medal-winning performances at the Para Asian Games 2026, while Chef de Mission Rahul Swamy said India's fourth-place finish reflected the country's growing stature in para-sports.
Pranav Soorma, who won two gold medals at the Games, expressed delight at the welcome he received upon arriving at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Monday. He said the celebrations and support from his family reflected the growing recognition of para-sports in the country. "I am extremely delighted to have had the opportunity to win two gold medals for the country. Returning home and witnessing this joyous celebrationthe dhol beats, the festive atmosphere, and my entire family here supporting megives me immense happiness to see para-sports receiving such recognition. These medals belong to the people of our nation, so thank you to everyone," Pranav told ANI. He also dedicated his two gold medals to his late grandfather, who passed away a few days ago, and credited his love and blessings for his success. "I want to dedicate these medals to my late grandfather, who passed away just a few days ago. I dedicate these two gold medals to him, because it is entirely due to his love and blessings that I have reached this level," he added. Meanwhile, silver medallist Pradeep Kumar thanked the people of his village and Mata Mansa Devi for their prayers and blessings, saying the medal marked his second medal-winning appearance at the Asian Games. "I feel very happy. Thanks to the prayers of the people of my village and the blessings of Mata Mansa Devi, I have won a medal for the second time at the Asian Games. Thank you to everyone," Pradeep told ANI. Para swimmer Tejas Nandakumar, who won bronze, also expressed satisfaction with his performance, noting that he had improved from a sixth-place finish in the same event at the previous edition to third place this time. "I won a bronze this time and it was uh really good. I'm really happy with the results because last time I finished 6th in the same event and this time uh I finished 3rd and I'm really happy about it. No, it wasn't very difficult. It was really good for me. Like, it was my I have competed in many internationals and it was really good. It wasn't that hard. This to everyone, my coaches, parents, my friends, everyone who who all my support team," Tejas told ANI, thanking his support team for his achievement. Rahul Swamy, Chef de Mission for the Para Asian Games, said India's performance demonstrated the progress made in para-sports and expressed confidence in the country's prospects at the upcoming Paralympic Games. "I would say that now in para-sports, India has entered the ranks of elite nations. We achieved fourth position this time in para-sports, and our progress will only continue to rise. Our next milestone is the Paralympic Games, and we are fully prepared for that as well," Swamy told ANI. He also highlighted the logistical challenges faced by the contingent because competition venues and accommodation facilities were spread across different locations. Despite these difficulties, he said, the team ensured that athletes remained focused on their events. "As CDM, we had to face several challenges this time because the venues were scatteredboth competition venues and non-competition/accommodation venues. So there were difficulties, but I am very happy that we did not let our athletes lose their focus. The hard work of the coaches and athletes paid off tremendously, and ultimately we won an unprecedented number of medals that India had never achieved before," Swamy added. (ANI)
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