"Will be remembered for very long time": Sachin Tendulkar congratulates para-athletes for remarkable Paralympics campaign
Sep 09, 2024
New Delhi [India], September 9 : Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar showered praise on India's para-athletes following their record-breaking campaign at the Paris Paralympics.
The Indian contingent concluded its historic Paralympics campaign in Paris on Sunday with a record haul of 29 medals, including seven golds, nine silvers, and 13 bronzes. The 29-medal tally is the most by India in the history of the Paralympics. Following the conclusion of the landmark campaign, India surpassed its record medal tally of 19, which was achieved at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. India ended the marquee event in the 18th position.
"7-9-13 on 7-9-24! That's how we closed the Paris Paralympics! 7 Golds, 9 Silvers, and 13 Bronzes--our best-ever Paralympics, and by some distance! These numbers are etched in stone now and will be remembered for a very long time. And so will the moments. There is a lot to love about how the Indian contingent played the games, and I wholeheartedly congratulate all the players, administrators, and support staff for achieving this," Sachin wrote on X.
https://x.com/sachin_rt/status/1833097542071968242
India rewrote several records and unlocked some new "firsts" at the Paralympic Games. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first ever Indian woman to secure two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to defend her women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points.
India recorded a one-two finish at a para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Parnav Soorma clinching gold and silver, respectively, in the men's club throw F51 event. This was among India's first-ever medals in this sport. Dharambir also set an Asian record of 34.92 m.
In the T64 high jump event, Praveen Kumar stood at the top of the podium with an Asian record-breaking jump of 2.08 m, landing India their sixth gold. India finished the competition with seven gold medals.
India also found its first-ever archery champion across the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh getting the gold in the individual recurve para-archery against Poland's Lukasz Ciszek.
Indian javelin throw ace Sumit Antil became the first Indian male to defend their Paralympics title, making it back-to-back gold in the F64 event with a stunning Paralympic record-breaking throw of 70.59 m. He broke his own previous record set during the Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice.