Paris 2024 | PM Modi welcomes Paralympic heroes, Avani Lekhara gifts T-shirt with special message

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and greeted the Indian Paralympians from Paris at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday, September 12. Prime Minister Modi was seen interacting with the para-athletes, listening to their success stories in Paris during the meeting that lasted for over an hour. India won as many as 29 medals in a historic Paralympic campaign, improving on its previous best tally of 19 in Tokyo 2021.

Shooter Avani Lekhara, who retained her gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event in Paris, presented a signed T-shirt to Prime Minister Modi. “Thank you sir for your support,” was written on the back of the T-shirt that was handed over to the Prime Minister. PM Modi was also seen signing a medal as he congratulated the Paralympic athletes and posed for pictures with the winners.

Gold medallist Sumit Antil was in fine form as he chatted with Prime Minister Modi. Several athletes took the opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts on how to take Paralympic sports forward during the conversation with the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Modi has regularly met and greeted Olympic, Paralympic and other sports stars after their major tournaments. The Prime Minister hosted the Olympic athletes at his residence after the Paris Games on August 15. He also met and greeted the Indian cricket team that won the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies in July.

Prime Minister Modi notably interacted with several Paralympians ahead of the Games and encouraged them to give their best. The leader also highlighted the role played by the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Para Games in their preparation.

THE The Paris Paralympics were a milestone for Indiawho finished 18th in the overall medal table, surpassing his previous record and establishing the country as a rising force in para-sports.

India won as many as seven gold medals, nine silver medals and 13 bronze medals.

India’s 29th and final medal was won by Navdeep Singh, who clinched gold in the men’s javelin throw F41 category. Navdeep had originally secured the silver with a throw of 47.32m, surpassing China’s Sun Pengxiang. However, his medal was upgraded to gold after Iran’s Beit Sadegh was disqualified for violating the code of conduct. The disqualification propelled Pengxiang to silver.

Indian Athletes in Athletics The Indian women were particularly successful, with 17 medals, including four golds, in total. Navdeep’s gold was a redemption after missing out on the podium at the Tokyo Paralympics, while Preethi Pal created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal in the athletics event, with two bronzes in the 100m and 200m sprints (T35).