NEW DELHI: Para-athletes from India made history in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games by winning a record 29 medals-seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze-exceeding all previous performances. As a token of appreciation, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced handsome cash rewards for the medal winners during a felicitation ceremony on Tuesday, September 10.
While gold medallists would get Rs 75 lakh, silver and bronze medallists would get Rs 50 lakh and Rs 30 lakh, respectively. The athletes performing well in mixed team events, like archer Sheetal Devi, would get Rs 22.50 lakh. In a promising gesture, Mandaviya vowed that the government would stand by the para-athletes and hoped for better performance by them at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
Speaking at the event, Mandaviya said: "From just four medals in 2016, we won 19 in Tokyo and now 29 in Paris, finishing in 18th place. We are on the rise in para-sports." The minister also reassured para-athletes of all possible facilities being extended by the government with ferverish hope that one day they will vie for gold in coming events.
This has no doubt been an excellent performance in Paris to make India emerge as an emerging power in the world Paralympics, with a move ahead of powerhouse countries like Switzerland, South Korea, Belgium, and Argentina in overall medal tallies.
The final medal of the campaign came in dramatic fashion when Navdeep Singh won gold in the men's javelin throw F41 on Saturday. Initially awarded silver for his 47.32m throw, Navdeep's medal was upgraded to gold after Iran's Beit Sadegh was disqualified for a code of conduct violation. Navdeep's win marked redemption of sorts for the athlete who had narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Most prolific were the track and field athletes, who contributed 17 medals to the Indian aggregate haul with four golds amongst them. Foremost among them was Preethi Pal, who created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an athletics medal in the Paralympics-a bronze each in the 100m and 200m (T35) sprints.
The success turned out to be monumental in Paris, and the future is glittering for Paralympians of India. Now, with the government's renewed impetus on para-sport and an eye on Los Angeles 2028, it looks all set to continue its upward trajectory on the global stage.
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