Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with members of India's Paris Paralympic team at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday. During the meeting, which lasted over an hour, PM Modi interacted with the para-athletes and listened to their success stories from the recent Paralympics in Paris.
India's Paralympians returned to a hero's welcome after a record-breaking performance at the Games. The Indian team won 29 medals—seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze—surpassing their previous best of 19 medals from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. India finished 18th in the overall medals table at the Paris Paralympics.
Shooter Avani Lekhara, who retained her gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, presented PM Modi with a signed t-shirt, which read, “Thank you sir, for your support.” PM Modi was also seen signing a medal and taking photographs with the athletes.
Gold medalist Sumit Antil engaged in a lively interaction with the Prime Minister, and several athletes shared their experiences and thoughts on advancing para-sports during the meeting.
After meeting PM Modi, Paralympian Sonal Patel, said, "It felt really good talking to PM Modi today. I could not win a medal this time but after talking to PM Modi, I am extremely motivated. He told us that participating in the Paralympics is also a very big thing. We will work hard and make sure to win a medal next time..."
PM Modi has a tradition of meeting and greeting Olympians, Paralympians, and other sporting stars after major tournaments. Earlier this year, he hosted the Olympians from the Paris Games on August 15 and also met the Indian cricket team following their T20 World Cup victory in July.