Paralympics medallists touch down to a warm welcome in the capital

A warm welcome awaited India’s Paralympics medallists, who arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Tuesday afternoon (10 September) — bearing a historic haul of 29 medals from Paris and holding out bigger hopes for Los Angeles in four years’ time.

The likes of Sumit Antil, Harvinder Singh and 'wonder girl' Sheetal Devi were greeted with garlands and the triumphant din of the dhaak as they headed into a felicitation ceremony hosted by Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, union minister of youth affairs and sports (and of labour and employment, as well) and Rekha Khadse, minister of state for youth affairs and sports.

Speaking to a motley gathering of the media at the airport, Antil — who has won back-to-back javelin gold medals in Tokyo and Paris — said: “When you prepare well, you automatically feel confident. I will try to breach the 75m mark soon.”

But first, a cuppa...

11 back-to-back medallists

Javelin ace Antil is only one of 11 Indian para athletes who won medals in back-to-back Paralympics, while 12 debutant athletes made a remarkable impact by winning medals on their first bow.

The event also witnessed the setting of five new records — one world record and four Paralympic records.

Harvinder Singh, who became the first Indian archer with a lower limb impairment to win a Paralympic gold, said: “Anyone who feels distressed or defeated can find inspiration in para athletes.”

Addressing the athletes later, Mandaviya assured the contingent that the union government would continue to extend full support to the athletes and their coaches.

Speaking on the government's behalf, the minister said that 50 of the 84 participants in the Paris Paralympics were supported through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), while others were beneficiaries of the Khelo India programme, National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) or other government initiatives.

Highlighting that the Paris 2024 Paralympics witnessed historic participation by Indian athletes, with 46 first-time participants and a record number of 32 Indian women athletes.

The 17 medallists present also included gold medallists Navdeep, Dharambir and Praveen Kumar; silver medallists Yogesh Kathuniya, Nishad Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Ajeet Singh and Sachin Khilari; and bronze medallists Preeti Pal, Mariyappan, Hokato Sema, Sundar Singh Gurjar, Kapil Parmar and Simran Sharma.