Javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar might have won a bronze medal in the recently concluded Paralympics but the star athlete wants to convert his medal into gold in the Paris Games.
Sundar bagged the bronze with a season-best throw of 62.58 on August 30 in the Tokyo Paralympics.
"In Rio Olympics, I was disqualified as I was 52 seconds late. I got demotivated at that time and thought everything is finished for me. My coaches motivated me and helped me regained my confidence back," Sundar told ANI.
"As a result, I became the World Champion in 2017, 2019. Now I have won bronze in the Paralympics and I am extremely happy about this. I will want to change the colour of my medal in the Paris Games and would try to win gold next time," he added.
Javelin throw has hogged the limelight in India after Neeraj's gold in the Olympics. And it has improved further after the show from the para-athletes in the Paralympics.
"Everyone in India now knows about javelin, in coming days foreign players would like to come to India for training such is a craze," said Sundar.
Sundar also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inspiring and motivating the athletes.
"We have got support from the government, especially how our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has motivated all the athletes. He congratulated us after winning the medal, before going also he had interacted with us," said Sundar.
Indian contingent on Sunday finished their campaign at the Paralympic Games at an all-time high by securing a total of 19 medals which included 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals.
"I feel we will win at least 30 medals in the coming Games. We are getting respect but I want coaches should also be given the same respect we're giving to the medal winners. Some coaches haven't received their awards yet," Sundar signed off.
( With inputs from ANI )
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