Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday announced cash awards of Rs 75 lakh to the gold medallists, Rs 50 lakh for the silver winners and Rs 30 lakh for the Indian athletes who have won bronze in the just-concluded Paralympic Games in Paris. Those excelling in mixed teams events, like archer Sheetal Devi, will get richer by Rs 22.5 lakh. The minister announced this during an event organised to felicitate the medallists at the mega-event.
Mandaviya also pledged full support and facilities for para-athletes to aim for more medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
"The country is rising in Paralympics and para sports. From 4 medals in 2016, India have won 19 medals in Tokyo and 29 in Paris with 18th place finish," Mandaviya said.
"We will provide all the facilities to all of our para-athletes so that we can win more medals and gold medals in 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics." India concluded their historic Paris Paralympics campaign with 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, marking the country's best performance in the competition's history.
India also crossed the 50-medal mark in Paralympic Games history with their excellent performance.
Swarmed by hundreds of supporters, India's Paralympic medal-winners returned to a jubilant welcome on Tuesday after securing the unprecedented haul in the French capital.
The men's javelin throw F41 final in the Paris Paralympic Games earned India its 29th and final medal of the campaign, as well as the 7th gold medal, thanks to Navdeep Singh. Though the event ended on a controversial note, with Navdeep's initial silver being upgraded due to Iranian athlete's disqualification over the display of a flag, the India star was elated to put the Tokyo Paralympics ghosts to bed. After making history for India, earning first-ever medal in the F41 category of the Paralympics, Naval drew comparisons with India's Olympics star Neeraj Chopra.
Neeraj had famously earned a gold medal for India in the Tokyo Olympics, before adding as silver to his trophy cabinet in the Paris Olympics. Seeing Navdeep bag a the yellow metal in Paris Para Games, his coach Naval Singh claimed that his ward's technique is even better than Neeraj's.
"I knew Navdeep was going to make me and India proud. He has done a lot of hard work. Navdeep ki technique Neeraj Chopra se bhi behtar hai (Navdeep's technique is even better than Neeraj Chopra's). If he were in able-bodied athletics, he would have done wonders. But we are all proud of Navdeep. This is just the start for him-he is going to break several records," Navdeep's coach told Times of India.
Navdeep also lauded his coach for the work the two put together over the years, finally reaping the rewards in Paris Paralympics.
"My coach, Naval Singh, has worked a lot with me. He has trained me for almost seven years. He has played a big role in my career. Whatever I am today, it's because of him. He has made me an international-level javelin thrower. All the credit for my technique and foundation goes to him," Navdeep said.
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