Paris [France], August 6 : International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and chairperson of Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani felicitated Olympic bronze medalists Manu Bhaker and Swapnil Kusale on Tuesday in Paris.
They were honoured at the India House for their fine performances at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
Shuttler Lakshya Sen, shooters Vijayveer Singh Sidhu, Maheshwari Chauhan, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Sift Kaur Samra, Esha Singh, Raiza Dhillon, Anish Banwala, boxer Nishant Dev, shot put athlete Tajinderpal Singh Toor, athlete Jeswin Aldrin were among those honoured with shawls.
Speaking at the event, Nita Ambani said that the shooting contingent displayed top form in the Olympics. She also said that Manu followed the wisdom given in Gita.
"Our shooting team has been in its top form in these Olympics. We have here another history maker, the first Indian ever to win a medal in a 50m Rifle event (Swapnil). After the Tokyo games, Manu said that she followed the wisdom of our ancient scripture The Bhagwat Geeta that teaches us 'Do your best and leave the rest to God.' And that's what she did. Three years later, at the games, she changed not just her own but also the destiny of her nation," Nita Ambani said.
Felicitating Lakshya for his performance and fourth-place finish at the Olympics, which saw him put up a sustained campaign and hard fight in the bronze medal against Malaysia's Zii Jia Lee, Nita Ambani said beyond medals and records, sport is the celebration of the human spirit, character, hard work and "our ability to confront all odds and never give up".
"Each one of our athletes has shown that spirit in Paris. Today we celebrate all of you, the champions of Team India... Lakshya, you have won hearts with your outstanding performance..."
India have secured three medals so far with all medals coming in shooting and all three are bronze.
Manu Bhaker opened the nation's account with a bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol event, becoming India's first-ever woman shooter to win an Olympic medal in the event.
After that, Sarabjot Singh and Manu won the bronze medal in the 10 m air pistol (mixed team) event, which was India's first-ever medal in team shooting.
Swapnil Kusale won the bronze medal in the men's 50 m rifle 3P event and is the first Indian to win a medal in this category.
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