New Delhi, June 23: India began its medal hunt in the 2003 Special Olympics in style winning a gold and a silver on the first day of the sporting extravaganza at Dublin, Ireland today. Both the medals for India came in 500 metres cycling.

Niraj Mitra of Karnataka won the first gold medal for the country while Kariyappa Kumar (Tamil Nadu) had to settle for the silver, according to information received here.

India's 83-member delegation is a part of the massive gathering of at least 7,000 athletes from 166 countries at the games. Earlier, during the inaugural ceremony, the participants with learning disabilities were encouraged to come out with flying colours by Hollywood actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ashley Judd, former South African president Nelson Mandela and legendary boxer Mohammad Ali.

The Indian team will take part in 11 events -- athletics, cycling, football, roller skating, badminton, table tennis, handball, volleyball, aquatics and basketball. India won a total of 104 medals including 24 gold medals in the last edition of the games in North Carolina in the United States and hopes to better that performance this time.

Bureau Report