Union Minister JP Nadda Honors Para-Athletes in Patna, Bihar
On Saturday, Union Minister JP Nadda celebrated the achievements of several para-athletes at a special event in Patna, Bihar. Among those honored were Shailesh Kumar, who finished fourth in the T63 high jump event at the Paris Paralympics, and Sharad Kumar, who won a silver medal in the same event.
Importance of Sports
During the event, Nadda emphasized the importance Prime Minister Narendra Modi places on sports. He mentioned that before Modi’s tenure, sports were not given much priority. However, Modi has implemented special plans to boost participation in sports, especially in the Olympics. Nadda highlighted the creation of 1,000 Khelo India Centres, with 700 already operational.
Athletes’ Reactions
Shailesh Kumar expressed his happiness, stating, “It feels good. It is happening for the first time that a player is being felicitated here. This never happened in Bihar. This will motivate players a lot.” He also urged the government to provide more support and vowed to bring a medal in the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
Sharad Kumar’s father, Surendra, also praised the event, saying, “For the first time we are seeing this (players being felicitated). This will raise the motivation of the players. This is commendable. My son will continue making the country proud.”
India’s Historic Performance
The Indian contingent concluded its historic Paris Paralympics campaign with a total of 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, the most by the country in the history of the competition.
India’s Medalists at the Paris 2024 Paralympics
| Sport | Event | Medalist | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting | Women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 | Avani Lekhara | Gold |
| Shooting | Women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 | Mona Agarwal | Bronze |
| Athletics | Women’s 100m T35 | Preethi Pal | Bronze |
| Shooting | Men’s 10m air pistol SH1 | Manish Narwal | Silver |
| Shooting | Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 | Rubina Francis | Bronze |
| Shooting | Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 | Preethi Pal | Bronze |
| Athletics | Men’s high jump T47 | Nishad Kumar | Silver |
| Athletics | Men’s discus throw F56 | Yogesh Kathuniya | Silver |
| Badminton | Men’s singles SL3 | Nitesh Kumar | Gold |
| Badminton | Women’s singles SU5 | Thulasimathi Murugesan | Silver |
| Badminton | Women’s singles SU5 | Manisha Ramadass | Bronze |
| Badminton | Men’s singles SL4 | Suhas Yathiraj | Silver |
| Archery | Mixed team compound open | Rakesh Kumar / Sheetal Devi | Bronze |
| Athletics | Javelin throw F64 | Sumit Antil | Gold |
| Badminton | Women’s singles SH6 | Nithya Sre Sivan | Bronze |
| Athletics | Women’s 400m T20 | Deepthi Jeevanji | Bronze |
| Athletics | Men’s high jump T63 | Mariyappan Thangavelu | Bronze |
| Athletics | Men’s high jump T63 | Sharad Kumar | Silver |
| Athletics | Men’s javelin throw F46 | Ajeet Singh | Silver |
| Athletics | Men’s javelin throw F46 | Sundar Singh Gurjar | Bronze |
| Athletics | Men’s shot put F46 | Sachin Khilari | Silver |
| Archery | Men’s individual recurve open | Harvinder Singh | Gold |
| Athletics | Men’s club throw F51 | Dharambir | Gold |
| Athletics | Men’s club throw F51 | Parnav Soorma | Silver |
| Judo | Men’s -60kg J1 | Kapil Parmar | Bronze |
| Athletics | Men’s high jump T64 | Praveen Kumar | Gold |
| Athletics | Men’s shot put F57 | Hokato Hotozhe Sema | Bronze |
| Athletics | Women’s 200m T12 | Simran | Bronze |
| Athletics | Men’s javelin throw F41 | Navdeep Singh | Gold |
Doubts Revealed
Union Minister -: A Union Minister is a person who helps run the country by being in charge of a specific area, like health or education. They are part of the government.
JP Nadda -: JP Nadda is a politician in India who works for the government. He is a leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Para-athletes -: Para-athletes are sportspeople who have physical disabilities but still compete in sports events. They show great strength and skill.
Patna, Bihar -: Patna is the capital city of Bihar, which is a state in India. It is one of the oldest cities in the world.
Paris Paralympics -: The Paris Paralympics is a big sports event where athletes with disabilities from all over the world compete. It was held in Paris, France.
Prime Minister Modi -: Prime Minister Modi is the leader of India. His full name is Narendra Modi, and he helps make important decisions for the country.
Khelo India Centres -: Khelo India Centres are places where young people in India can go to play sports and get better at them. ‘Khelo’ means ‘play’ in Hindi.
Shailesh Kumar and Sharad Kumar -: Shailesh Kumar and Sharad Kumar are Indian para-athletes who did very well in the Paris Paralympics. They won medals for India.
29 medals -: India won 29 medals at the Paris Paralympics, which means Indian athletes did very well in many sports. Medals are awards for winning or doing very well in sports.
seven gold -: Out of the 29 medals, seven were gold. Gold medals are given to the first-place winners in sports competitions.