E-Paper
PM Modi to host India's Paralympics stars today, mark most successful season yet
The 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo proved to be the most successful season for India yet, with athletes securing a total of 19 medals - five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. Before this edition, India had won 12 medals (4 medals of each colour) in all previous Paralympics appearances combined.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to meet the Indian contingent of the 2020 Summer Paralympics on Thursday (September 9), just as he had earlier met with all the Olympians who returned after participating in the multi-sports event in Tokyo. Announcing on Sunday that the Prime Minister will be hosting the Paralympians this week, Union minister for youth affairs and sports Anurag Thakur said that Modi has always had a “vision” for inclusive participation in sports, so creating more opportunities for specially-abled athletes was a part of that idea.
“He [the Prime Minister] had hosted the Olympians when they arrived in India, and now he is going to host the Paralympians as well,” the sports minister later told reporters, adding a congratulatory word for all the medallists this year. He pointed out that in 2016, the contingent for the Paralympics was 19 and now in 2021, the country's para-athletes managed to win 19 medals.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo was held from August 24 to September 5 this year entirely behind closed doors due to the prevailing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation. Just like the Olympics, the multi-sports event was branded as Tokyo 2020 despite being delayed a year due to the pandemic.
Although India's athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984, the event this year proved to be the most successful Paralympic season for the country yet, with the athletes securing a total of 19 medals - five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. Before this edition, India had won 12 medals (4 medals of each colour) in all previous Paralympics appearances combined.
India at the 2020 Summer Paralympics saw several firsts - archer Harvinder Singh became the first Indian to win a medal in Archery, and Avani Lekhara scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in Shooting. She also became the first woman from the country to win a gold medal and become a multiple medalist at the Paralympics. Para-athlete Sumit Antil also set a new world record with a 68.55-metre Javelin throw this year, also winning a gold medal in the process.
“It clearly shows that India has done well,” minister Anurag Thakur said. “Our medal tally has increased by about five times. It is a big achievement.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally spoken to every Paralympian who won a medal for the country. He said on Sunday that India’s historic medal haul in the Tokyo Paralympic games would remain etched in the memory of every Indian and motivate generations of athletes.
