look news india
New Delhi, September 10 (HS). Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday presented cash awards to the athletes who won medals at the Paris Paralympics during an award ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The gold medalists in the Paralympics were given cheques of Rs 75 lakh, silver winners Rs 50 lakh and bronze medalists Rs 30 lakh by the government. Apart from this, athletes who excelled in mixed team events like archer Sheetal Devi were given a cheque of Rs 22.50 lakh as a reward.
At the ceremony, the Sports Minister also promised full support and facilities to para-athletes to aim for winning more medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. Mandaviya said, “The country is moving ahead in Paralympics and para sports. From 4 medals in 2016, India won 19 in Tokyo and 29 in Paris, and ranked 18th.” He further said, “We will provide all facilities to our para-athletes so that we can win more medals and gold medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.”
India's Paralympic contingent concluded its most successful campaign ever at the Paris 2024 Games, bagging an impressive 29 medals including seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze.
The Paris Games proved to be a milestone for India, which finished 18th in the overall medal tally, surpassing its previous record and establishing the country as an emerging force in para-sports.
India celebrated its remarkable overall performance in several sports, defeating powerful nations such as Switzerland, South Korea, Belgium and Argentina, who finished behind India in the standings.
India's 29th and final medal came from Navdeep Singh, who won gold in the men's javelin throw F41 classification on Saturday. Originally, Navdeep had won the silver medal behind China's Sun Pengxiang with a throw of 47.32m. However, his medal was later upgraded to gold after Iran's Beit Sadegh was disqualified for violating the code of conduct.
In Paris, India's track-and-field athletes were particularly successful, contributing 17 medals overall, including four golds. Navdeep's gold redeemed her after missing out on a podium finish at the Tokyo Paralympics, while Preeti Pal made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal in athletics with two bronze medals in the 100m and 200m (T35) sprints.