‘His exemplary success will motivate budding athletes’: PM Modi congratulates discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya

“Outstanding performance by Yogesh Kathuniya. Delighted that he brings home the Silver medal. His exemplary success will motivate budding athletes. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours,” PM Modi posted the congratulatory message on Twitter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya for winning the silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics and said that his “exemplary success will motivate budding athletes”. “Outstanding performance by Yogesh Kathuniya. Delighted that he brings home the Silver medal. His exemplary success will motivate budding athletes. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours,” PM Modi posted the congratulatory message on Twitter.

Yogesh Kathuniya clinched the silver medal in the men’s F56 event as he sent the disc to the best distance of 44.38m in his sixth and last attempt. (ANI Photo)

News agency ANI reported on Monday the Prime Minister also talked with Kathuniya over the phone and congratulated him and appreciated the efforts put in by his mother in ensuring his success. Kathuniya expressed gratitude towards Modi for his good wishes.

Yogesh Kathuniya clinched the silver medal in the men’s F56 event as he sent the disc to the best distance of 44.38m in his sixth and last attempt. Kathuniya is a commerce graduate from Delhi University’s Kirorimal College. The child of an army man, Kathuniya suffered a paralytic attack when he was eight years old which left him with coordination impairments.

“I’m extremely happy to win the silver medal, it was my debut Games but I’m happy to win the medal. I registered a few foul attempts but I came back to win the medal. I want to thank SAI, PCI and a big thank you to my mummy as she supported me throughout my journey,” the teary-eyed 24-year-old told ANI on Monday.

Meena Devi, Kathuniya’s mother, said her son’s silver medal was equivalent to a gold medal for her. Visuals from Haryana's Bahadurgarh showed his family and friends of the discus thrower celebrating his phenomenal victory.

Yogesh Kathuniya won a gold medal at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai with the best throw of 42.51m, which booked his berth for the Tokyo games. And in 2018, he set a world record in the F36 category in his first-ever global competition in 2018 at the Para Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin.

(With ANI inputs)