Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Indian Paralympic medal winners Praveen Kumar and Hokato Hotozhe Sema, lauding their outstanding performances at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. PM Modi, who had earlier hailed the champions post their victory, spoke with the two on Saturday (September 7) and congratulated them for bringing laurels to the nation.
In his conversation with Hokato Hotozhe Sema, the Prime Minister praised the 40-year-old Paralympian for winning a bronze medal for the country in his debut match. Sema secured a bronze in the men’s shot put F57 class with a personal best throw of 14.65m on his fourth attempt. Notably, Sema had served in the Indian Army before achieving this remarkable feat in the field of sports. He lost his left leg in a landmine blast during a military operation in 2002. Since then, he took up shot put at the age of 32 and has made significant progress. Before winning the medal in the Paris Paralympics, Sema finished seventh in his World Championships debut in 2023 but improved his performance with a fourth-place finish this year. He also won a bronze medal at the Asian Para Games with a 13.94m throw last year.
Apart from Sema, PM Modi also discussed with Praveen Kumar how the high jumper used the internet to enhance his training, which helped him soar to victory in the men’s high jump T64 class. Kumar set an Asian record with a jump of 2.08m, securing India's sixth gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. This is his second Paralympic medal, following his silver win at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with a 2.07m jump.
It is noteworthy that Praveen was India’s youngest para-athlete to win a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in 2021. Last year, he won the gold medal at the Asian Para Games with the then-Asian record and a bronze at the World Para Athletics Championship in 2023.
