PM Narendra Modi interacts with Paralympic stars, says 'You all are ambassadors of the country'

Starting from top (L-R): Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sharad Kumar, Avani Lekhara, Harvinder Singh, Sumit Antil (Twitter/Media_SAI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the valiant display of the Paralympians at the recently concluded Tokyo Paralympics, which saw India bag 19 medals at the event. The PM feels that the achievement unlocked by the para-athletes at the showpiece event will aid in boosting India's aspirations in sports. 

The Prime Minister, who hosted the Indian contingent at his residence earlier this week, said he feels inspired by each and everyone.

The video of the meet has been released and Zee News also telecast a special episode honouring the Paralympics, which had moments from the event. 

Interacting with our champions… #Paralympics https://t.co/IKVreoh5f3 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 12, 2021

"Your achievement will significantly boost the morale of the entire sporting community in the country, and budding sportspersons will feel encouraged to come forward to take up sports. This performance has led to awareness about sports that is increasing by leaps and bounds in the country," PM Modi told the entire contingent. 

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The Prime Minister also hailed the spirit of the 54-member contingent, stating: "A true sportsperson does not get bogged down by defeat or victory, and keeps on moving forward. You all are ambassadors of the country, and you have increased the prestige of the nation on the world stage through your remarkable performance."

During the meet, the Prime Minister interacted with every member, who also thanked Modi, for uplifting sports and helped them gain recognition. 

In Pics | PM Narendra Modi hosts Indian Paralympic contingent

Many also gifted their sporting equipments to the PM and a stole was also presented to him, which had signatures if of all the medalists.

India, who's maiden trip to the Paralympics was in 1968, had won just 12 medals until the previous edition held at Rio in 2016. However, the medal graph witnessed a meteoric rise and went on to bring home 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze). Out of a total of 162 participating nations, India finished 24th in the overall medal tally.

The Gold medalists from the Indian contingent at Tokyo Paralympics were: Avani Lekhara in Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1, Pramod Bhagat in Men's singles SL3 badminton, Krishna Nagar in Men's singles SH6 badminton, Sumit Antil in Men's Javelin Throw F64, and Manish Narwal in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1.

Silver medalists were: Bhavinaben Patel in Women's Singles Class 4 Table Tennis, Singhraj Adhana in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1, Yogesh Kathuniya in Men's Discus F56, Nishad Kumar in Men's High Jump T47, Mariyappan Thangavelu in Men's High Jump T63, Praveen Kumar in Men's High Jump T64, Devendra Jhajharia in Men's Javelin F46, and, Suhas Yathiraj in Men's Singles Badminton SL4.

Bronze medalists were: Avani Lekhara in Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1, Harvinder Singh in Men's Individual Recurve Archery, Sharad Kumar in Men's High Jump T63, Sundar Singh Gurjar in Men's Javelin Throw F46, Manoj Sarkar in Men's Singles Badminton SL3, and Singhraj Adhana in Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1.

The records made by the Indian medallists are as follows: Sumit Antil - World Record in F64 Men's Javelin (Gold), Avani Lekhara - Equalled the World Record and made a Paralympic Record in R2 Women's 10m Air Standing SH1 (Gold), Manish Narwal - Paralympic Record in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 (Gold), Nishad Kumar - Asian Record in Men's High Jump T47 (Silver), and Praveen Kumar - Asian Record in Men's High Jump T64 (Silver).