Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke to the Indian medalists of the Paris Paralympic Games, including Ajeet Singh Yadav, Sundar Singh Gurjar, Sharad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, and Deepthi Jeevanji, praising them for their historic achievements.
PM Modi lauds athletes' efforts
During a telephone conversation, the Prime Minister expressed his joy over India's best-ever performance at the Paralympics, emphasising how their achievements have inspired the nation's youth and contributed to the growing popularity of various sports.
Celebrate without worrying about medals
PM Modi encouraged the athletes to celebrate their victories, assuring them that the entire nation is proud of their contributions, regardless of the medal colour. "Every one of you has made the country proud," he said.
Harvinder Singh clinches India's first-ever Gold medal in archery
Meanwhile, India's Harvinder Singh made history by securing the country's first-ever gold medal in archery at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Wednesday, September 4. Harvinder triumphed over Poland's Lukasz Ciszek in the men's individual recurve final with a dominant 6-0 victory, marking India's first gold in archery at either the Olympics or Paralympics.
Earlier in the day, the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics bronze medalist staged a remarkable comeback, overturning a 1-3 deficit to defeat Iran's Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri 7-3 in the semi-final, becoming the first Indian archer to reach the final at either the Olympics or Paralympics.
The 33-year-old Haryana native advanced to the final after victories over Hector Julio Ramirez of Colombia in the quarter-finals, Setiawan Setiawan of Indonesia in the round of 16, and Tseng Lung-Hui of Chinese Taipei in the round of 32.
Harvinder, who had earlier won a bronze in Tokyo 2020, demonstrated his prowess by landing four 10s and five 9s in the final to claim the gold. This victory also marked India's fourth gold and 22nd overall medal at the Paris Paralympics, pushing the country to 15th place in the medal standings, as India continued to deliver its best-ever performance at the Paralympics with a potential top-20 finish.
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