New Delhi, March 20 All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey hailed the government's support to para-athletes in recent years and said it will encourage more such players across the country.
Chaubey was present during the opening ceremony of the second edition of the Khelo India Para Games (KIPG) which was declared open by Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Mansukh Mandaviya at KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, Indira Gandhi Stadium complex in New Delhi.
"The way para games has been promoted in the recent years and the rise in medal tally in last three Paralympics will encourage more such players," Chaubey told reporters on Thursday.
Paralympians - Simran Sharma (athletics), Praveen Kumar (badminton), Nitesh Kumar (badminton), Nitya Sre (badminton) and Preeti Pal (athletics) joined Mandaviya, Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Kento Jini, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister of Arunachal Pradesh and President of the Paralympic Committee of India and former Paralympian Devendra Jhajharia, in a unique torch rally to formally flag off the Khelo India Para Games 2025.
The KIPG 2025 will take place between March 20 and March 27 and will feature competitions across six para sports disciplines: para-archery, para-athletics, para-badminton, para powerlifting, para shooting and para table tennis at three venues - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium and the Dr Karni Singh shooting range - in New Delhi.
The 1300-plus participants include several high-performance para-athletes like gold medallist archer Harvinder Singh, Club thrower Dharambir and high Jumper Praveen Kumar.
The Khelo India Para Games 2025 is the second national sporting event organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) this year, following the Khelo India Winter Games that concluded last week in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir.
The inaugural edition of the KIPG was held in December 2023. At least 25 athletes competing in the first edition of KIPG were among India's 84-member contingent for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
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