India's former President Ram Nath Kovind embraced a felicitation ceremony of the Special Olympics stars of India at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday. The Indian Team, featuring 194 athletes participated in the nine-day event in Berlin and the country had considerable success, winning a whopping 202 medals. India won 76 Gold, 75 Silver and 51 Bronze medals at the tournament.
The Special Olympics World Games 2023 were held in Germany from June 17 to 25 and India tasted big success in several events, with rollerskating being the most decorated sport for the country. India won medals in 20 sports with rollerskating being on top with 31 podiums. This sport was followed by powerlifting, where India clinched 23 medals in all.
Speaking on the occasion, former President Kovind congratulated and heaped praise on the athlete's efforts in the event. I congratulate all the medal winners here. India is feeling proud because of your success in Berlin. You performed brilliantly IN Berling through an exposure given to you by our government," Kovind said.
Notably, India finished second in the World Games, behind hosts Germany. Kovind was proud of the effort. "I've been told that we finished second among 180 participating nations, but I pray that you will achieve the first rank next time. Your journey was not an individual fight as you showed a strength of unity and dedication. It is a happy moment that India finished second after his nation Germany to win 202 medals (76 golds), notably 89 by our daughters, which suggests a bright future for India. You have inspired the next generation of India and we all are behind you in your future journey," the ex-President added.
Meanwhile, Delhi's MP Gautam Gambhir was also present in the ceremony and he also gave his wishes to the Indian players. The Indian contingent ended its successful Special Olympic World Games 2023 campaign with a double century of medals, 202 to be precise. After several athletes won medals in sports such as roller skating, golf, basketball, tennis, handball and volleyball among others. The last day saw track and field athletes doing the job as six medals (2 gold, 3 silver and one bronze) were won with Aanchal Goyal (400m, Level B Female) and Ravimathi Arumugam (400m, Level C Female) stealing the limelight finishing at the top of the podium.
