अंतिल ने पैरालिंपिक में स्वर्ण पदक जीत प्रधानमंत्री को समर्पित किया

Antil dedicates Paralympics gold medal win to PM

Paris Paralympics gold medallist para-athlete Sumit Antil dedicated his historic gold medal at the recently concluded marquee event to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi interacted with the para-athletes after their historic Paris Paralympics campaign at his residence 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital on Thursday. Speaking to PM Modi during the meeting, Antil said, "This is my second consecutive Paralympics gold medal. After Tokyo, I had promised you to win two more gold medals. This is for you. On behalf of my entire team, I thank you. When I spoke to you on August 20 (before the Paralympics), I remembered those moments after the Tokyo win and I told myself do well."

Indian javelin thrower Sumit Antil has become the first Indian male to defend a Paralympics title. He has won two consecutive gold medals in the F64 event with a brilliant javelin throw of 70.59m. He broke his own previous record set during Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nikhil Khadse and President of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) Devendra Jhajharia were also present during the meeting.

Prime Minister Modi interacted with the Paralympians who represented India at the recently concluded Para multi-sport event. During the meeting, Paralympic gold medallist Avani Lekhara presented a signed Indian jersey to the Prime Minister. The Indian contingent concluded its Paralympics campaign in Paris on Sunday with a record haul of 29 medals including seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze. The 29 medals are the highest number won by India in the history of Paralympics. After concluding the historic campaign, India surpassed its record of 19 medals achieved at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. India finished the marquee event in 18th place.

India recreated several records and achieved some new "firsts" at the Paralympic Games. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to secure two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to defend the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points. India also achieved a one-two finish in a para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Parnav 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 jump of 2.08m, giving 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 Lukas Ciszek of Poland.