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New Delhi, September 11 (HS). Indian Paralympic Committee (PCI) President Devendra Jhajharia said that after the Paris Paralympics, the world has accepted that India has become a sporting country.
The Indian contingent concluded its Paralympic campaign in Paris with 29 medals including seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze. The 29 medals are the most won by India in the history of the Paralympics.
Following the conclusion of this historic campaign, India also surpassed its record of 19 medals secured at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. India finished the marquee event in 18th place.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian contingent returned back to India after their stellar performance at the Paris Paralympics.
In an interview to Hindustan News, Jhajharia said that after the Paris Paralympics the world has accepted that India has become a sporting country.
He said, “Our players have created history in Paris. The biggest message is that after the Paris Paralympics, the world has accepted that India has become a sporting country, because we have entered the top 20 in the medal tally, which is a big thing.”
Jhajharia said, “When we left India, we thought we would win more than 25 medals and be among the top 17-18 countries. India has now become a sporting nation. We have created history. Other countries have also now realised how well India has performed.”
He said that it is because of the schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government that India has created history in the multi-sport event.
He said, “A lot of work has been done in sports in the last 10 years, be it TOPS, Khelo India, training centres etc. It is because of the schemes of Prime Minister Modi and the Centre that we have created history.”
Jhajharia further said, “We won the first gold medal in archery. We also won the first medal in blind judo. It was a great performance. We started preparing for the Paris Paralympics 12 months ago, we had already seen in Paris which Indian food restaurants are good. So this is not the result of one day, I also thank those people who did their best for our athletes, I also congratulate the entire Paralympic Committee of India family because this is not the contribution of one person but of everyone, from the masseur to the Prime Minister, everyone is a partner in this success.”
Jhajharia also thanked Prime Minister Modi. He said, “The work that the Prime Minister has done for para sports in the last 10 years has been extraordinary. He has encouraged and provided facilities. He has done both the things. He has been talking to the players on time and encouraging them. When we were going to Paris, he met everyone and encouraged them. He is always enthusiastic about all the players. Players get encouraged by his every word.”
Let us tell you that India recreated many records in the Paralympic Games and achieved some achievements for the first time. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to retain the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points.
India finished first and second in the para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Paranav Surma winning gold and silver respectively in the men's club throw F51 event. This was one of India's first medals in the sport. Dharambir also set an Asian record of 34.92m.
In the T64 high jump event, Praveen Kumar topped the podium with an Asian record-breaking leap of 2.08m to give India its sixth gold medal. India finished the competition with seven gold medals.
India also got its first archery champion at the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh winning gold in individual recurve para-archery against Lukasz Ciszek of Poland.
Indian javelin thrower Sumit Antil became the first Indian man to defend a Paralympic title, winning two consecutive gold medals in the F64 event with a stunning Paralympic record-breaking throw of 70.59m. He broke his previous record set during Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice.