Three Rajasthan athletes have won laurels for the state at the ongoing Paralympics in Tokyo, prompting the state government to announce cash rewards for them.
Shooter Avani Lekhara, who won gold, will get ₹3 crore; javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia will get ₹2 crore while his teammate Sundar Singh Gurjar will get ₹1 crore for winning silver and bronze medals respectively.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted on Monday, “All the three players have already been appointed to the post of ACF in the Forest Department of the state government. The players of the state have brought laurels to the country and the state by winning medals, we are very proud of them.”
“We are proud of Rajasthan’s Paralympic javelin throwers Devendra Jhajharia, who grabbed Silver & Sundar Singh Gurjar for claiming Bronze at Men’s Javelin Throw event,” he said in another tweet.
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He also congratulated para-athlete Yogesh Kathuniya for winning a silver medal in Men’s Discus Throw at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Lekhara, who created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, won in the R-2 women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event. She is wheelchair-bound after she met with an accident on February 20, 2012, when she was just 11. Her father Praveen Lekhara, a government employee, said, “She has worked very hard for 7-8 hours daily and is expecting at least two medals. She is participating in four events and three are still remaining. She had made everyone proud.”
{{/usCountry}}Lekhara, who created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, won in the R-2 women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event. She is wheelchair-bound after she met with an accident on February 20, 2012, when she was just 11. Her father Praveen Lekhara, a government employee, said, “She has worked very hard for 7-8 hours daily and is expecting at least two medals. She is participating in four events and three are still remaining. She had made everyone proud.”
{{/usCountry}}Devendra Jhajhariya has consistently broken his own records. In 2004, he won gold after throwing the javelin 62.15 meters; he broke his record in Rio Olympics with 63.97mts; and now, though he won a silver, the throw was 64.35 mts.
His younger brother Arvind said, “We were expecting gold but it’s a game. The entire country is proud of him.”
“He has been competing for the past 22 years yet, his dedication and passion are unbeatable. He works out for seven hours daily,” he said. His arm got damaged when he was eight and got electrocuted while playing near a tree.
Gurjar lost an arm in 2016 after a tin shed fell on him. He practised in Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur under the supervision of his coach Mahaveer Saini. His brother, Hariom, said, “The entire village is happy on the achievement. Though he was sure of winning gold medal but he missed.”
A statement released by the CM’s office said that the government has sanctioned ₹5lakh each for the training of these three players.
“Free training and other facilities are being provided by the Rajasthan State Sports Council to Avani Lekhara and Sundar Singh Gurjar. Avani gets training in the shooting range- Jagatpura, which has state-of-the-art facilities while Sundar gets training at the Athletics Sports Academy in the SMS stadium,” the release said.