The post Anurag Thakur felicitates the medal-winners from the Tokyo Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>“It was my dream to win a medal for my country and I had trained hard for it. Has it sunk in? not yet. I am so happy and grateful,” said the 19-year-old Lekhara, who became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold.
Thakur lauded her and all others who finished on the podium, presenting them with mementos to honour their feats.
I recall in the 2016 Paralympics, the size of the Indian contingent was 19, while this year the country has won as many as 19 medals. You have shown us that the human spirit is the most powerful of all,” Thakur said at the function where the medal-winners were given a standing ovation.
“Our medal tally has increased by about five times. For the first time we have won medals in table tennis and archery, competed for the first time in canoeing and powerlifting. We equalled two world records and we broke even more. India’s para athletes delivered a perfect podium finish,” he added.
He offered government’s full support to the athletes.
The government’s approach in extending support to athletes for international competitions has undergone a transformational change. The government will continue to support India’s paralympians with facilities and funding so that they may continue to excel internationally.
“We’d like to encourage more regional and national tournaments for our paralympians so they can regularly compete and better their skills,” said Thakur.
The function was also attended by Thakur’s predecessor and current Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Sports Nisith Pramanik.
The post Anurag Thakur felicitates the medal-winners from the Tokyo Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post Manoj Sarkar wins bronze in the badminton men’s singles SL3 event appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>In a match which lasted for 47 minutes, Sarkar managed to win the first game 22-20, in what was turning out to be a cagey encounter.
The Indian shuttler found his footing in the second game, crusing to a 21-13 win against his Japanese opponent.
Also, India’s Pramod Bhagat, who is also the reigning world champion, claimed a historic gold in this event, defeating Bethell in the summit clash.
The post Manoj Sarkar wins bronze in the badminton men’s singles SL3 event appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post Manish Narwal wins gold in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>19-year-old shooter Manish Narwal won gold in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event while Singhraj Adhana won silver.
This is India’s third gold at the ongoing Paralympics. Narwal shot a total of 218.2, a Paralympic record, to claim the yellow metal while Adhana, who had won the bronze in the P1 men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event on Tuesday, added a silver to his kitty with an effort of 216.7.
Russian Olympic Committee’s Sergey Malyshev took home the bronze with an effort of 196.8.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate Narwal and Adhana and said glory from the ongoing games continues.
“Glory from the Tokyo Paralympics continues. Great accomplishment by the young and stupendously talented Manish Narwal. His winning the gold medal is a special moment for Indian sports. Congratulations to him. Best wishes for the coming times,” he tweeted.
“The outstanding Singhraj Adhana does it again! He wins yet another medal, this time in the Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event. India rejoices due to his feat. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for the future endeavours,” the prime minister said in another tweet. PM Modi also called up Narwal and Adhana to congratulate them.
Earlier in the qualifying round, Adana progressed to the medal round in fourth place with a total of 536 while Narwal shot 533 to qualify at seventh at the Asaka Shooting Range.
The post Manish Narwal wins gold in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post Avani Lekhara becomes the first Indian woman to win two medals at a single edition of the Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>During the 1984 Paralympics, Joginder Singh Sodhi had won multiple medals in the same edition of the Games when he clinched one silver and two bronze medals.
Avani had finished second, a point behind Sweden’s Anna Normann in the qualification. The Swedish shooter and Avani both had bettered the previous Qualification World Record with some exceptional shooting.
During the qualification round, Avani had struggled a bit in the Kneeling position but found her range in the Prone and Standing to climb up the ladder.
In the final, Avani once again was slow to get off the mark scoring a 9.8 and 9.7 in her first two shots. However, she found her mark soon and shot a 10.9 in her fourth shot.
Avani, though, found the going hard in the third series in Kneeling position, with only one shot out of 5 in the over 10-point mark. Her scores improved in the Prone position, shooting a 51.5, 51.4 and 51.0. But with others shooting a little better, the Indian found herself in seesawing between 5th and 6th place.
The post Avani Lekhara becomes the first Indian woman to win two medals at a single edition of the Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post Suyash Jadhav disqualified for violation of a rule appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The 27-year-old Jadhav, whose two hands were amputated below the elbow at the age of 11 due to electrocution, was found to have “performed more than one fly kick after the turn”.
The gold in this event was won by Serrano Zarate CD of Columbia with a personal best timing of 1:12.01s.
The silver and bronze were bagged by Egor Efrosinina of Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) with a timing of 1:16.43s and Australia’s Blake Cochrane, who clocked 1:16.97s respectively.
Swimmers in S7 class have limited leg function or are missing a leg or parts of both legs, or have amputations and cerebral palsy.
SB stands for breaststroke. Jadhav had missed out on his first event — the 200m individual medley SM7 — on Friday as he was suffering from cold and sore throat. He will compete in the 50m butterfly S7 event on Friday.
The post Suyash Jadhav disqualified for violation of a rule appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post Sumit Antil wins gold in men’s javelin (F64): Tokyo Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Australia’s Michal Burian won the silver medal, with a best attempt of 66.29m, while Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku took home the bronze medal.
Antil lay down the marker with his very first throw, which put him in the lead and also broke the existing world record in the category – also set by him.
He then set the world record again with his second attempt of 68.08m.
His third and fourth attempts were 65.27 and 66.71 respectively, but he seemed to have already sealed the gold medal, with none of his competitors really threatening his position.
Then, in the fifth attempt, he threw 68.55m to create the world record for the third time in the day and ensure India’s second gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.
The post Sumit Antil wins gold in men’s javelin (F64): Tokyo Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post India to compete in nine sports in the Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The likes of star javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia and high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu — both 2016 Rio Paralympics gold winners — will lead the biggest ever contingent with India expecting at least 15 medals, including five gold.
India is competing in nine sports in the Paralympics, which is being held under strict safety and health protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to few countries pulling out.
The expectation of unprecedented success would not be wide off the mark as at least four Indians are ranked top of the world while six are at number two and around 10 are at number three in global standings.
India has won 12 medals in total in Paralympics since it first took part in 1972 and if the projected success materialises, the country could be among the top 25 in the medal tally this time, as against 43rd in 2016 with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze.
With the government loosening its purse strings for para-athletes and many of them preparing well at various Sports Authority of India facilities across the country, the Paralympians look set to add to the euphoria of sporting success following the best ever medal haul in the Olympics which ended on August 8. India secured seven medals, including one gold and two silver medals, during the Olympics.
Jhajharia, who lost his left hand due to electrocution as a child, is going strong even at 40 and is aiming for a hat-trick of gold medals in the F-46 category after finishing on top of the podium in 2004 and 2016.
He is the current world record holder in the event. F-46 classification is meant for athletes who have upper limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement.
Mariyappan, who was permanently disabled at the age of five when a bus crushed his right leg below the knee, is another para athlete seeking to defend the gold he had won in 2016 in T63 high jump, though he is currently ranked world number 2. He will also hold the country’s flag during the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
World champion Sandeep Choudhary (F-64 javelin throw) is the third gold medal contender from the 24-strong para athletics team. He is world number one and world record holder also. Other medal prospects from para-athletics are reigning world champion Sundar Singh Gurjar and Ajeet Singh (also in F-46) and Navdeep Singh (F41) — all para-javelin throwers.
World champion Sandeep Choudhary (F-64 javelin throw) is the third gold medal contender from the 24-strong para athletics team. He is world number one and world record holder also. Other medal prospects from para-athletics are reigning world champion Sundar Singh Gurjar and Ajeet Singh (also in F-46) and Navdeep Singh (F41) — all para-javelin throwers.
The post India to compete in nine sports in the Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>