Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
National
PTI

PM Modi hosts India Paralympic contingent, presented with autographed stole

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Indian contingent of the 2020 Summer Paralympics on September 9. (Source: PTI)

India's Paralympians presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an autographed stole on Thursday during a breakfast hosted by him to felicitate the contingent at his residence in New Delhi.

The Indian para-athletes returned from Tokyo on the back of a sensational campaign that saw them win an unparalleled 19 medals, including five gold, eight silver and six bronze.

This was the country's best-ever Paralympics campaign as it finished 24th in the overall tally.

The PM was presented with a white stole signed by all the medal winners, which he was seen wearing around his neck.

Mr. Modi, who was the first to congratulate the para-athletes on call after their medal winning feats, was seen talking to shuttlers Suhas Yathiraj, the District Magistrate of Noida, who won a silver, gold medallist Krishna Nagar (badminton) and young Palak Kohli (badminton).

Indian shuttlers bagged four medals including two gold, in para badminton, which made its debut in the Paralympics.

Shooters Avani Lekhara and Singhraj Adana, who both won two medals each in the Tokyo Games, also chatted with the PM.

Lekhara, who was paralysed waist down after being involved in an accident, had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold before adding a bronze to her kitty.

The 39-year-old Adana, who is afflicted with polio, clinched a silver and a bronze.

The PM also interacted with veteran javelin thrower Davendra Jhajharia and high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu, who won gold medals in 2016 Rio Games. The duo finished on podium again, this time with silver medals.

Also present were table tennis player Bhavina Patel, who won a silver, and bronze medallist recurve archer Harvinder Singh.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.