PM Modi hosts Indian Paralympic contingent, presented with autographed stole
(Sourced from 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 prime minister was presented with a white stole signed by all the medal winners, which he was seen wearing around his neck.
Modi, who had been 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 silver, gold medalist Krishna Nagar (badminton), and young Palak Kohli (badminton). Indian shuttlers bagged four medals including two golds in the game which made its debut in the Paralympics.
Shooters Avani Lekhara and Singhraj Adhana, who both won two medals each in the Tokyo Games, also chatted with the prime minister. Lekhara 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 Adhana, who is afflicted with polio, clinched a silver and a bronze.
The prime minister also interacted with veteran javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia and high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu, who won gold medals in the 2016 Rio Games. The duo finished on the podium again, this time with silver medals. Also present were table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel, who won a silver, and bronze medalist recurve archer Harvinder Singh.
