New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the para-athletes who are set to fly to Tokyo for the 2020 Paralympics. India accumulated a total of 54 para-athletes who will be sent to Tokyo for the Paralympics to compete across 9 sports.
In an effort to boost the confidence of the para-athletes, PM Modi wished them luck and asked them to go ahead and express themselves at the showpiece event.
PM Modi said “New India will never pressurise its athletes to win medals, rather everyone should just focus on giving their 100 per cent.”
“COVID-19 may have increased your hardships but you people have never given up, this is real sportsmanship. Your victory, your medal is very important but New India will not pressurise our athletes to win the medal, you just need to give your 100 per cent,” said PM Modi during the interaction.
While talking to para-badminton player Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar, PM Modi said: “You will turn 50 in the next 2 years. You’ve worked hard on your fitness. I think you will be giving a present to your brother, this Raksha Bandhan.”
Para-athlete Devendra Jhajharia (javelin thrower) during the interaction told PM Modi: “Sir, you have always encouraged para-athletes, and now we will do our best at the Tokyo Paralympics. When I was nine years old, I lost my hand and when I came back, it was a challenge to go outside my house. When I started playing in school, when I pulled javelin, there were taunts that I had to deal with. There I decided that I will not be weak, in life I have learnt that when there is a challenge in front of us then you are close to achieving success. I was told that I should study and there is no place for me in sports, but I took it as a challenge.”
India had won a total of 4 medals in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, two of which were gold medals. All the four medals came in athletics, with Mariyappan Thangavelu bagging the yellow metal in Men’s High Jump T42 event while Devendra Jhajharia bagged the top-podium spot in Men’s Javelin Throw F46 event.
Deepa Malik won a silver medal in the women’s shot put- F53 event while Varun Singh Bhati bagged a bronze medal in the Men’s High Jump T42 event.
